Teaching your kids to believe in God, when they can’t see Him.
My daughter, Faith, is a sharp little girl. She’s 10 years old at the time of this writing… and I’m beginning to notice more and more that she’s a thinker.
The two of us were talking a couple of weeks ago, about life, faith, fun… all kinds of stuff, when she came out with this question:
How can I believe in God, when I can’t see Him?
I told you she was a deep thinker.
Has your kid ever asked a question like that? What did you tell him/her?
I was very thankful that the LORD gave me a response that not only made sense to her… it clarified the issue for me too. I trust it will be helpful to you too…
Here’s how the LORD led me to answer her question…
ME: Faith, imagine that I gave you 7 billion dollars, and I told you that it was in the bank, right down the street. But if you want the money, there is one rule you have to follow: You can NEVER go into the bank and take out cash. If you use the money, you have to write a check or use a debit card, or make a transfer, but you can NEVER have the money in your hand. What would you do?
FAITH: I would use a card or write checks to use the money.
ME: And when you did that, would it make you wonder if the money was really there?
FAITH: No.
ME: Why?
FAITH: Because I would be buying things, and I wouldn’t be able to buy things if there wasn’t really money in the bank.
ME: Very good, that’s right. Our relationship with God is the same way. He has told us that when we trust in Jesus, He puts His Holy Spirit inside us. Think about that, God Himself lives in us through His Holy Spirit. That’s amazing… kind of like having 7 billion dollars in the bank. He tells us that we are able to talk with Him any time, we are allowed to receive guidance from Him as we learn how to listen to the Spirit’s guidance, and we are able to understand Him better as we read the Bible, which tells us all about Him. But we can never “take Him out” and see Him. We can never hold Him in our hand, or put our arms around Him, or see Him with our eyes. Of course, God could do those things for us if He wanted to, but He doesn’t normally do that. He wants us to trust Him, to have faith in Him. Does that make sense?
It did… for her and for me.
God’s resources are like money in the bank
You and I (and our believing children) really DO have the Spirit of God living inside us. He’s there, unseen, as a Companion and Resource for life. As we begin to utilize the strength and wisdom that He provides us, we begin to see Him achieving things in our lives and attitudes, that only He can do.
It takes faith to act like He’s there, but when we do, He comes through… just like the money in the bank.
Teach this concept to yourself.
“Borrow” my illustration and teach it to your children. Don’t wait for them to ask, bring it the subject up yourself. Point your family toward a habit of recognizing that Jesus is in you, ready to do amazing things through you, all to bring glory to Himself. It’s a reality you can bank on.
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