I plopped my toddler down in my lap and opened the familiar cover of a book I knew well—or at least, I thought I knew well. Jane Werner Watson’s 1956 classic My Little Golden Book About God, with illustrations by Eloise Wilkin, was a fixture both in my childhood home and my church’s nursery. I remember fondly the beautiful depictions of both God’s world and God’s children, as well as repeated iterations of the phrase, “God is good.”
But as I read through it with my daughter for the first time in several decades, I couldn’t help but be disappointed. Amid the final pages of the book, we found these stanzas: “God is the love of our mother’s kiss, the warm, strong hug of our daddy’s arms.”
That idea that God is the love of our mothers or the strength of our fathers is a panentheist idea. It’s the idea that God is in everything, rather than that he is the creator and sustainer of everything (Acts 17:28). It’s also different from the biblical doctrine of God’s omnipresence—that God is everywhere (Ps. 139:7–10).
These may seem like little differences, but the finer points of theology are important, even for children. It will shape how they view the world, God, and themselves. But how do we teach kids theology that they can understand without watering it down, losing the gospel message, or—as was done often in my own well-meaning circle of teachers and Sunday school instructors—accidentally passing along heretical analogies for God or his attributes?
Use What Scripture Provides—And Don’t Deviate!
God provides us with a wealth of descriptive information about himself in Scripture. In Exodus 34:6–7, he describes himself to Moses: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” We know that he is a Spirit (John 4:24), that he is One God (Deut. 6:4), and that he is all-powerful, all-wise, and everlasting (1 Tim. 1:17; Ps. 90:2; Rev. 1:8). His word compares him to a shepherd, a gardener, a father, a king, and a friend, to name a few, and these Scripture-provided analogies help shape our understanding of him—and they are simple enough for children to understand!
When we stray from the descriptions God has provided for us to know him, we enter the dangerous territory of inventing things about God that are not true. When we say that God is the love of our mother’s kiss, we are fundamentally misrepresenting who God is to our children. He’s not abstract feelings, he’s not his creation—though in it we see his handiwork—and though it’s not as poetic, it would be much more helpful for training up our children to say something like, “The love of our mother’s kiss is a blessing from God,” or “Our father’s love is like God’s love for his children.”
Teach the Great Story, Not Just the Smaller Ones
One problem we often see in children’s Bible story-based entertainment and even their Bible instruction is a limited scope. Kids might learn the story of Daniel—he’s faithful to God, and his obedience and prayer get him in trouble with the king. He’s thrown into the lion’s den, but God saves him. Maybe the message ends up being about being obedient or being prayerful. Maybe it’s about how it can be hard to have faith when you are persecuted for it. Maybe it’s about how God protects his people. All of those things are good and true! But they are not the whole story. Daniel’s story takes place in a time when God’s people are in exile because they sinned against God. Daniel is an example of God preserving a faithful remnant of believers and taking care of them even when all seems lost. And despite the faithlessness of the Israelites, God remains faithful. He saves Daniel from the mouth of the lions, and he will one day save us, also, from the jaws of death when his own Son comes as an obedient servant—like Daniel—and gives his own life for ours.
If we’re not teaching children the gospel when we teach them the Bible, we rob them of the whole point of Scripture, all of which is meant to direct us to the person and work of Christ.
This is not just a scholarly pursuit, nor is it only the territory of preachers and teachers. Helping children find Christ in Scripture is essential to teaching them Scripture.
It’s worth it to find storybook Bibles and children’s Sunday school curriculum or entertainment that teach the Bible this way, in its context of sin and redemption. Tell Me A Story is one example of this—a children’s podcast that tells Bible stories within the theological framework of God’s plan and promises. It tells the grand story of redemption as it’s woven throughout the Bible stories we know so well.
Be Comfortable With Not Having All the Answers
When I was a child, I was taught to understand the Trinity like water—it can be liquid, solid, or gas, but it’s all the same substance! Unfortunately, this teaches an understanding of the Trinity that is actually a heresy which the early church fought hard to eradicate.
It’s tempting, when Scripture doesn’t give us the precise terms or explanations we’d like to see, to invent ways to describe the mysteries of God or his providence. And yet, the Bible tells us that we already have everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). If the Trinity seems impossible to compare to anything in creation, that’s because it is! We can be content in not knowing everything because we have a God who does, and he holds us in his hands.
This God of ours is a mystery, and his promises for us unfold in ways we cannot always understand. It might be hard to answer your kids’ questions about heaven (e.g. “Will there be ice cream?” “Will my favorite pet be there?”) or about life’s sufferings (e.g. “Why did Grandpa have to die?” “Why did I have to get sick and miss camp?”). It’s certainly hard to explain the mystery of God, even with what he has revealed to us. As Isaiah writes:
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”— Isaiah 40:28
It is not for us to fashion answers that Scripture doesn’t give. And, truly, that is one of the best lessons we can teach our kids early on.
I still read My Little Golden Book About God to my daughter. It’s one of her favorites, and most of it is so beautifully written (I do edit a few of the final lines as I read them aloud). But I also look for books and kids podcasts—like Tell Me A Story—that will help her to think critically about what the Bible says about who God is and who we are. I want her to know Scripture, not just its stories, and I want her to trust in the Almighty God even when she doesn’t have the answers.
