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Questions, questions—kids ask questions. Everyone knows that. Parents know that, and God certainly knows that kids ask questions. Not surprisingly, God prepared His people, Israel, for what to do when their kids started to pepper their parents with questions about religion. Paying careful attention to how God prepared Israel for the questions their kids would raise can be instructive for parents raising children today.

God’s Preparation for Juvenile Interrogation

In the Old Testament, God did many wonderful and even cataclysmic deeds. The ten plagues culminated in the execution of every firstborn Egyptian and the preservation of every firstborn Israelite. The parting of the Red Sea led Israel to safety on dry ground and buried Egypt in a watery grave. The giving of the Ten Commandments at the foot of a mountain wrapped in smoke made Israel ethically distinct from every other nation. On top of these marvelous works, God commanded that regular ceremonies be observed to remember all that He had done. Annually, Passover lambs were slaughtered to remember the Passover. One week a year, the Jews ate only unleavened bread to remember their Exodus from Egypt. Continually, Israel was to read and observe all that God had commanded in the Law. And in the midst of all of this commemoration, God anticipated that there would be a steady stream of juvenile interrogation.

In Exodus 12, we read, “And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses’” (Ex. 12:26–27). Then again in Exodus 13, “When in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery’” (Ex. 13:14). Then again in Deuteronomy: “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day’” (Deut. 6:20–24).

There are more examples, but you get the point. Kids ask questions, and God prepared His people to answer those questions by telling the stories of God’s redemption over and over and over again.

Every Question is an Opportunity

Well, some things never change. Kids being raised in Christian homes still ask questions today. “Why do we go to church every week?” “Why do people get dunked in water up there?” “Why does that guy in the pulpit talk so long?” “Why do you eat that bread and sip that wine?” “Why do you read your Bible in the morning?” “Why do we pray before we eat?” Every question from your child is an opportunity. Don’t “shush” them—answer them. Answer the questions—each question with objective truth and subjective truth.

Objective Truth: Providing the Facts

Objective truth includes the facts, the realities, and the certainties of our faith. We listen to the Bible preached because “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). We pray before we eat because “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17), and we want to thank the One who has given us all these good gifts. We “eat that bread” and “sip that wine” because Jesus Christ has shed His own blood so we might be forgiven, redeemed, and brought into fellowship with God. 

Answer all the questions with the facts. If you can’t answer your kids' questions with objective truth, don’t rest until you can. Take their questions to a friend or a pastor who can help you, engage the sermon, go to Sunday school, or Google “Ask Pastor John.” Do whatever it takes to get answers to those questions; your children's eternal destiny depends on knowing God’s salvation, and God often imparts the knowledge of His salvation through ordinary parents giving simple answers to curious children.

Subjective Truth: Sharing Your Testimony

Subjective truth includes your experience of the facts, the realities, and the certainties of our faith. When the questions come, tell your kids your testimony. Tell them the stories of how God has engaged with your soul. As I speak with young adults who were raised in Christian homes, I am saddened by how few of those kids know the details of their parents' testimonies. Make your testimony to God’s grace an essential strand of the fabric of your home. 

Do your kids know about the neighbor who invited you to church for the first time? Or, if you grew up in church, do your kids know about the time “church came alive” to you? Do they know which sins you escaped when you plunged into the waters of baptism or how you are comforted by the Lord’s Supper? Tell them the story of how God delivered you out of the Egypt of sin. Give them enough details so they know their mom and dad are real sinners. While this might tempt you to feel ashamed, it will probably give them hope that God can save a sinner like you and, thus, can save a sinner like them.

Opportunity Over Annoyance

Kids are going to ask questions. Don’t let those questions drive you crazy. Focus more on the opportunity than the annoyance. How we answer their curious questions may be the way God leads their wayward hearts to Him.