My children love to ask me probing questions about God.
“Was God born?” they ask.
“No,” I explain. “God has always been there. He didn’t have a beginning.”
Or, “How did God make the world?”
“Well,” I explain, “He simply said He wanted it to be, and it was.”
“But how did He do that?” my questioner asks. And I’m reduced to the sentence that always concludes these precious times: “I don’t completely understand. But God tells us it is true in the Bible, and I just trust Him.”
And my little questioner, satisfied by this, rolls over and drifts easily off to sleep.
“Well,” I explain, “He simply said He wanted it to be, and it was.”
“But how did He do that?” my questioner asks. And I’m reduced to the sentence that always concludes these precious times: “I don’t completely understand. But God tells us it is true in the Bible, and I just trust Him.”
And my little questioner, satisfied by this, rolls over and drifts easily off to sleep.
I just trust Him. How dependent I’ve become, I realize, on my bite-sized definitions of who He is. Words like "sovereign", or "glorious", or "omnipotent" appear in my prayers. Concepts like irresistible grace, sanctification, and election divide my theology into neat categories. I love to digest complicated issues of my faith and try to understand a little better the One I follow. My desire to share this with my children leads me to “boil it down” to their level of comprehension. My four year old asks, “Why did God make sharks if they’re scary?” And my long, jumbled attempt at explaining a fallen world or all things working together for good finally lands me right back where it always does: “I just trust Him.”
This is the truth, I realize, of Mark 9:15: I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. When all is said and done, I stand before God just as my little children do, entirely dependent on the simplest of answers I share with them. They come to me with questions, and I tell them “Because He said so.” I go to Him with questions, and He answers, “I Am Who I Am.”
Motherhood has taught me not only how little I know, but also how little I need to know. I may wrestle with the doctrine of free will vs. predestination as much as they wrestle with how God made pine cones, but ultimately, we rest in the mystery of His truth, if we are to rest at all.
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Head over to Jules’ site to participate in her summer writing contest, with the topic, "What My Children Taught Me About God". First prize is a custom cartoon for your blog! Deadline is August 31.
Oh, this was wonderful Shannon. How is it that we fall into the Christian “language” and we don’t really think about what we are saying? Kids bring us back to a simple faith.
I just read that verse today….love it.
“I Am who I Am”. “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Forever… I AM”…” (Hebrews 13:8) Is that not all we really need to know? This brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for the reminder that really, all we can do is “trust Him”. That is probably the greatest action of all.
Congrats! You have been nominated for a blog award at One Woman’s World!
Beautifully said, Shannon. The recent tragic loss of a young mother in our church family brought this truth of faith home to be anew. We must just trust Him. He is perfectly trustworthy; my challenge (and blessed joy) is to just trust Him….even when life events don’t make sense or seem fair, etc. What blessing it must bring our Father when He hears His child say, “I trust you.”
I second the nomination!
That was also one of my big questions when I was a child – when did God begin? The fact that God always has been is unfathomable to me, but it is supposed to be. He’s just so awesome that we can’t even comprehend it; and to me, that’s pretty cool.
Thanks for this post. It was nice to be reminded that we need to trust Him – in everything! 🙂
Someone else mentioned faith and kids. It is true. My kids always help me remember the simplistic beauty of faith in God. When my oldest son realized Santa and the easter bunny weren’t real, he was DEVESTATED. Not because of santa or the bunny, but because he thought that if they weren’t real maybe Jesus wasn’t. We talked and he understood, but how sweet that kids can love him so much with such understanding but such little “knowledge”, just faith.
You know, I really needed to hear that. You have such a wonderful way with words Shannon. Your are truly a woman of God!
Well said, Shannon. You never fail to nail it right on. My motto: “God is in control”. That has strengthened my trust immensely.
Thought-provoking and well-said as usual.
Trusting is difficult for me but a must. It’s a must because none of my babies came out with a manual. Darn it.
I pray it gets easier.
Resounding applause from the coast! You captured in a few paragraphs the nugget from my Bible study today. Beth Moore was talking about how “God is Who He says He is”, and your post today dove-tailed perfectly with what I learned. I am glad to be in this big family with you.
Nicely said (now about those sharks…)
Beautiful Shannon! Simply trust, we don’t have to have all the answers when we know the One that does. Thanks for the reminder.
great post! I know I need more of that kind of simple faith.