Children are naturally curious and have all sorts of questions! The people they’re seeking answers from, aunties and uncles, parents and grandparents alike, will likely range in creativity and capacity for responding to all of those “But why?!” questions.
If I’m being perfectly honest, it is super tempting to shrug off challenging or unexpected questions from our KidzHarbour children… especially when they’re interrupting the flow of a lesson! It can be hard to see the value in listening to a comment about the green balloon their friend received for their birthday yesterday.
Instead of leaning towards impatience and striving for a silent class (which I often default to) I’ve been trying to remind myself that these questions (usually) stem from curiosity and a desire to know/understand the world around them! They are asking because they feel safe and because they know they will be heard.
Sometimes I think we accidentally begin to push away curiosities when we focus more on positively reinforcing good behaviour and rewarding obedience.
Questions are not a malfunction; we don’t need to troubleshoot doubt… these things are healthy and important in the development of children! And these things are also vital to our own spiritual growth!
While the scriptures point to instructions about being prepared with answers and being able to share with others about our faith “in and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2), it seems like the Church has leaned over a little too far towards knowing the “right” answers. The focus has subconsciously become to grow in certainty, rather than fostering spiritual curiosity or nurturing honest conversations around doubts.
When I was a child I didn’t understand that “I don’t know” could be an answer too.
Pride and fear worked together to create a reality where Little Laura needed to know exactly what to say. It had to be the right answer or else others would suffer or think poorly of her!
None of those answers would have been able to share with others the “reason for the hope” (1 Peter 3:15) she had because, frankly, she probably didn’t have a whole lot of hope in that pride-fear reality.
Realizing that it’s okay not to know all the answers and it’s even okay to offer the wrong answers has been incredibly liberating! Because the focus is no longer on Laura knowing what’s going on, the focus shifts and leads to bringing questions, doubts and fears before God – who does actually know what’s going on.
The Good News for us is that we are all children!!
The even Better News, is that our Heavenly Father is infinitely better than any earthly father ever could be.
This is what Jesus taught in Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Our God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine… and our God knows how to care for us. How to answer our questions and how to comfort us when it’s not time to know the answers yet.
Rather than allowing certainty to become an idol in our study of God, may we become more and more like children! Asking our Heavenly Father loads of questions; bringing all of our doubt and fears, pride and anxieties before him.
If we are to be certain about anything, let it be that our trust, hope and confidence are set in Christ alone. And may that allow us to be curious and grow in bringing our questions to God who is always longing to speak to us in love.