When They Ask

“So, I was thinking,” my student said to me with a serious look on his face. “How do we know that the Bible is true and that Christianity is the only right religion? How do we know that other religions like Islam aren’t the right way?”

It was lunchtime, and many of the other students had finished eating and had gone off to play. I was glad for the opportunity to be able to give my full attention to this child. I knew that he was a deep thinker and that he would not be content with pat answers. Since we had just studied Islam in history class, I could understand what had sparked his questioning.

If a nine-year-old came to you with questions like that, how would you respond? As I recall, I said something like this, “That’s a really good question. I’ve often wondered the same thing myself, and I don’t have an easy answer for you. But I can tell you this: I have done lots of studying, and I’ve read many books and listened to many speakers, and after all that, I still believe that Christianity is the right way.” I then encouraged my student to keep thinking and asking questions and to search out answers for himself.

I am sure there are other things I could have said. I do not claim infinite wisdom in responding to my students’ questions. But I was honored that he felt safe in asking me those questions in the first place.

Children wonder about everything. Do you remember that from your childhood? I do. When I first studied philosophy, I was surprised at how simple it seemed. These are the things I thought about when I was seven years old, I thought, as I read some of the writings of ancient philosophers. In my third-grade history class, we have a unit of study on ancient Greece. As a wrap-up to the lesson about Socrates, I often say, “Socrates wondered about many things and asked all kinds of questions. What are some things that you wonder about?” Here are some responses I have gotten:

“How could God not have a beginning or ending?”

“Why do people sin so much?”

“Why doesn’t God just make people be good?”

“Why is there death?”

“Why didn’t Jesus just stay on earth so that we could see Him too?”

“How can it be that we will live on forever?”

“Can people in heaven see us?”

I also recall a class discussion from when I was in fourth grade. One of my classmates was trying to ask a question and was struggling to articulate it. My ten-year-old self understood what he was asking, because I wondered the same thing. Though I didn’t have the vocabulary to express it in this way at the time, the question was this: Is heaven a physical place, or is it merely a disembodied spiritual experience? I wish I could remember how my teacher answered that question, but I have no idea. What I do remember though is that discussions of that nature were not unusual, and questions like that were welcomed and encouraged.

Is your classroom a safe space for children to ask hard questions? Our students’ honest questions should not make us feel threatened or intimidated. Their questions are an opportunity for us to search our own hearts and to learn and grow with them. We need to keep in mind that God is well able to protect His own reputation, the Bible can defend itself, and the Holy Spirit is at work in our students’ lives in ways we often underestimate. Rather than thinking that we must have answers for everything, we can point them to the Answer, resting in the assurance that He will teach them.