June 25, 2013
It’s been Lucy’s plaintive question nearly every day recently. “Where IS God? Is He up in heaven?”
He’s everywhere, Lucy. He’s here with us now.
“But Mama, I don’t SEE anyone else here. ”
God is invisible, Lucy. He is so great, He isn’t limited to just one place–if He had a body, He would be. God can be everywhere at once.
I draw a breath, ready to launch into a discussion of the fourth dimension, and the fact that God is eternal.
“…I still don’t see Him,” says Lucy.
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Where IS God? How do I answer that question for a three-year-old? How do I recognize Him?
Do I tell her about our friend Scott who was near death from a blood infection, but has recovered by what the doctors have called “a miracle”?
Do I explain how I felt God’s hand in all the particulars of my recent eye surgery, including the completely unprecedented short-term job I got this Spring which helped to pay for it?
All of this seems to be beyond her very literal young mind right now. I continue to tell her the Bible stories, and when all else fails, I point to the wind. You can’t see it, Lucy, but you can see what it does. That’s what God is like.
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 ESV
Just as I can’t point out God in a crowd, so I can’t know how God may be crowding Lucy’s little heart. But I pray that one day soon, that spiritual birth will take place in her, and then Lucy will have eyes to see the ways of the Spirit in the world.
Until then, I aim to take more pains to notice every trembling leaf and swaying branch, so that I may point her to His works.
photo credit: Jonathan Worthington
🙂 It helps children to have visuals to understand things. A fun art project for the both of you could be: get a large piece of light colored construction paper, on one end place a medium sized X and on the other end another X, draw a line that from one to the other. Label the first X with ‘beginning’ and the other one with ‘end’… this is now the base of God’s timeline. In the middle of the line, draw a larger circle and make it look like the earth. You can add stars around it and such, but just make sure you leave room on the picture face for things Lucy wants to add. Now, draw a huge circle (probably oblong) around all of it, it can reach to the very edges of the paper, just make sure it is bold and has no gaps. The circle around it all of course, represents God. Now you can have Lucy add her own drawings inside the circle… herself, family, friends, animals, toys, etc… whatever she wants. As you explain to her that God ‘hugs’ everything inside that circle… He see’s it all and He cares about every little thing inside that circle. There is nothing outside the circle, because of the beginning and end timeline. You can hang her picture on the wall and anytime something good or bad happens, she can add another picture inside the circle to help her visualize that God cares about it, is in control and is hugging the situation, no matter what it is. Hope this all makes sense, LOL, it does in my head! 😀 Great post sister…
Of course, you can jazz it all up with colored markers and glitter glue, etc… she can even add stickers, whatever! Use your imagination… after all, GOD IS MORE than even OUR comprehension!! 😀
Thanks, Teach! I like this idea very much.
I’m reminded of a quote from Thomas Jefferson:
I agree with Jefferson’s basic point: May Lucy’s mature reason objectively decide the issue of an alleged God’s existence, without succumbing to any temptation to believe, simply because others believe, or because psychological weakness leads her to “need” an invisible, omnipotent father figure for the rest of her life.
Although I would contend that we all need such a Father, whether we acknowledge it or not, I agree with you (and Jefferson) in spirit. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
I like this post, very thought provoking. I am somewhat skeptical of Thomas Jefferson overall. He was a product of his own time. Sometimes, Enlightenment thinkers were too fond of their own abilities to reason.
When does a person obtain “mature reason?” Some people seem to never grow up. I don’t have kids yet, but I always talk to small children as if they are mature. There is always some way to express what we mean to say, if only we will be dilligent to find the right words.
Thank you, Duck. I took from the Jefferson quote that each of us must decide what we believe independently, rather than just accepting someone else’s beliefs. “Let each be firmly convinced in his own mind.” I know “God doesn’t have grandchildren” isn’t in the Bible, but the principle is true. As for “mature reason”–well, “Faith of a child” is closer to the truth, isn’t it?
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