I was reading the Genesis 1 creation story to my boys recently and when it got to the line that says, “God created them in his image, male and female,” my nine-year-old said…”if god created humans in his image…does this mean God is NAKED??!”
I laughed (not at him but with him as he thought it so funny) but I realized how natural it is for children to think literally like this and how beneficial it is for an adult to come alongside and slowly guide them into mystery and greater meaning, gently nudging with questions like, “Do you think the story-teller thought God had a naked human body? Did they think God was a man? How do you imagine God? Would you like to learn more about who the story-tellers were and what their community was experiencing when they told this story? What kinds of scientific discoveries were yet to be made when this was written? There’s a lot of repetition in these lines that make me think it could be read like a poem instead of a history or science book, what do you think?”
Rather than coming away with theological “right answers” about God, they can be taught to explore and ponder mystery and meaning that can allow space for their development as critical thinkers. Maybe it can also help to nurture a faith that isn’t thrown into crisis the minute they discover contradictions.
Kids being raised in Christianity can begin to see the God of scripture as a character formed in Israel’s imagination over generations, as they made sense of their experiences and forged a unique identity in the world, clinging to a law that aimed to honor faith, hope and love. These children can also be helped to see the way that the Christian imagination formed around the life of Jesus as many, Jew and gentile, began to identify with his proclamation of the Good News of a God of love who was near to all, especially the broken-hearted.
It is my hope and prayer that they’ll begin to envision and know this God whose kingdom and government isn’t ruled by an authoritative regime, domination, or an appearance of piety, but by hearts given to compassion and set apart, not by bloodline or cultural identity, but by grace. And this grace is large enough to allow each people group to retain their cultural identities as they freely adhere to this ethic of love.
This universal Gospel love is what John, the one exiled to Patmos, was alluding to when he clung to his revelation of a city made incomparably beautiful by such an ethic. Here are some excerpts from the final book of the New Testament:
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”…
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God….
By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations…
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
In my imagination I see here a vision of every human and culture in the world being uniquely guided by light from within as we realize our creative capacities to heal one another. I don’t see God portrayed as a distant deity or Jesus up on a pedestal but the image given is that of light and a river flowing, reminding me of the living waters bursting from within that Jesus spoke of to the woman at the well in John’s gospel writing. God is within and the life of Jesus is light that shows us who we are as humans - simultaneously children of God and children of mankind; capable of forgiving and showing mercy and healing and doing miraculous things that benefit many; capable of suffering excruciating atrocities and overcoming rather than rotting away in the shadow of death.
Many of us had teachers and leaders that meant well and gave us what they thought right, (and I can only be grateful for the time they took to give me what they had) but often kept us confined to the concrete rigid reading which, as most of us can attest, stunted our spiritual growth in many ways. We heard them saying, “It’s this way. Because God made it this way because he wanted it this way. He made it this way to bring himself glory. And that’s all that matters. And if you keep inquiring and saying there’s got to be more to it than that…well then you clearly have very little faith and don’t believe in God at all. We’ll pray for you.” How sad this is when those children leave home and are confronted with new information! They either choose to ignore it and live in a bubble while remaining in the clutches of fundamentalism, or they choose to open their minds and often disappoint their families and churches in doing so. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can teach them our cherished stories and traditions without placing expectations on how they’ll integrate them into their experiences and knowledge. We can believe that God is within them, guiding and loving them as they learn to discern truth for themselves and consider many perspectives.
This is why I love reading the Bible with my boys. The things they notice when you don’t impose doctrine and rather try to offer context is sometimes quite hilarious. I love giving them these stories that are so familiar to me and seeing what they notice and how the words and images land in their young minds. Over the years, I’ve discovered some helpful methods for reading the Bible with them which I would like to share.
Here are my tips:
Read with plenty of expression. The more ridiculous you look and sound, the more engaged they’ll be.
Listen closely to their questions and don’t feel pressured to give a quick and easy answer in order to look like an expert.
Make fun of things that are strange: like God negotiating with Abraham before throwing fireballs at Sodom and Gomorrah, or God making a deal with Satan in the book of Job, or Jesus humbly and willingly and joyfully admitting that he was wrong in regards to assuming the syrophoenician woman was a dog whose daughter didn’t deserve healing, or Peter taking himself WAY to seriously when he caught Ananias and Sapphira in a lie and so scared them with his intensity that they both had heart attacks and died. (I mean…that last one…can you imagine Jesus doing that? Sorry Zaccheus…I’m NOT going to your house today, you thief…instead I will wield my God-given power to kill you! The kid song would be much more appealing to my children had it ended that way though.)
Refrain from moralizing the stories! The Biblical characters weren’t written to give examples of what to do or not do, or how to live or not live. They’re mostly there to baffle us and reassure us that it’s okay to struggle and be human. Even Jesus with his language about following him is offering an invitation to learn what is good and true by experience rather than setting up standards about how to be a good boy or girl. And it’s not about getting kids to love God either. The hope, I think, is that we share these stories in a way that awakens love in them for this messy humanity and this intriguing creation, and by extension, they will be learning to love God. Or maybe they will remember that they always have loved God. I’m reminded of 1 John 4:12 - “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
Humanize the biblical characters AND their biblical visions of God. Perhaps then they won’t be taken captive by power hungry preachers or teachers claiming that they, and ONLY they, have the truth. They will recognize that this man or woman preaching is as fallible as any.
Don’t be afraid of doing it wrong. The reality is, our children may not choose our religion. They may not value these stories or believe the way that we do. But maybe they’ll at least treasure the memories of someone who loves them faltering and attempting to pass along an ancient faith that they’re invited to consider. Maybe we will capture their divine imaginations in ways that will enable them to teach US.
And to leave you with one final story so as to assure you that despite what I’ve written, I am not anywhere close to succeeding as a kid’s Bible teacher:
Last Sunday, I was reading the story in Genesis of Abraham and Lot going separate ways. My middle child said, “Who’s Lot? Oh wait, nevermind, I remember. He’s the robber who killed Jesus.” I stared blankly and said, “What? What robber that killed Jesus?” He insisted, “You know! The guy next to him on the cross who washed his hands! The robber that killed Jesus!” I was trying to figure out why he thought the thief on the cross killed Jesus when my oldest finally yelled, “You mean Pilate, not Lot!” Middle Boy’s eyes lit up, “Yes! Pilate! The robber who killed Jesus and then washed his hands. I guess it wasn’t Lot,” he shrugged.
As you can see…I have my work cut out for me.
Thank you for reading. Please join me again in two weeks!
I tend to see more of God in Jesus and not so much His humanity. I’ll study this a little more and remember His humanity, yet without sin. Thanks for your response.
Perhaps since the woman was all too aware of how the Jews viewed her by the usage of “dog”, His goal was for her to see what her true worth was to Him, as He granted her answer and spoke to her about how her faith in Him mattered.