Teaching Big Truths to Little Minds
gabriella clare marino - unsplash.com
Oftentimes, parents think that their children are too young to handle the truth. The truth could look like devastating news about a loved one, a reality check about a baby sibling’s arrival into the family, or even big theological truths. We think it’s either too difficult for them to understand or they’re not mature enough to handle the information. While some heavy or extreme information can probably wait as it can cause trauma or fear, generally speaking, children are actually more capable than we think.
Psychologists say that starting at age 5, children are more developmentally able to comprehend and make sense of big ideas and life issues more clearly. The older children get, the bigger the need is for honest disclosure to help them make sense of things and formulate their own ideas.
Kids actually crave the truth to be shared with them. It helps them process and understand what’s going on in the world around them.
The Gospel Truth
As Christian parents, part of being honest is by presenting big truths of God’s word to our children.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Deuteronomy 6:6-7a
We are to model the gospel to our children through our actions and our words. But sometimes it’s hard to navigate the right words when it comes to complicated situations in life or abstract theological truths. However, weaving in the gospel truth in the everyday is essential for our children to get to know these big truths. It goes hand in hand with being honest with them about any other thing or issue you present them with. For it is with the gospel truth that our children will have a foundation to build their spiritual strength. As they mature into teenagers or adults, this foundation is going to serve as part of their spiritual and mental armor.
No doubt, it can be intimidating to explain abstract concepts and real life news to kids, especially when they are still formulating their ideas of the world and prone to misunderstanding. But if you choose to open the doors of communication, you may just find the benefits outweighing the risks.
Building Your Child’s Mental Strength
Experts say that truth-telling is a key factor in growing your child’s mental strength. It is never too early to start the practice of truth-telling with your kids, as long as it is done with parental discretion and discernment for each particular child. This begins at home with the everyday things. Being open and honest about small things makes a way for parents to build a bridge to be honest about bigger, heavier things in life.
When parents practice imparting the truth in their children, they are also helping them develop mental strength that will follow them into adulthood.
Amy Morin, author of “13 Things Strong Kids Do: Think Big, Feel Good, Act Brave”, says that a common question parents ask are what key strengths they need to teach their children. There are several, but building mental strength in children is the one trait that helps kids get through life’s toughest challenges and become the best version of themselves.
So how can we apply this if we want our children to be rooted in God’s truth?
Engage Your Kids with Big Truths
Every Christian parent hopes their children will grow up with a firm foundation of God’s truth. There is a certain resilience and strength we see in someone who is firmly rooted in God’s word. However, often parents leave the work to the Sunday school teacher or youth pastor to equip their children in the big truths of the gospel because it seems too hard.
Parents, I’m here to say that presenting theological truths to our kids doesn’t have to be intimidating, confusing or boring. One of the most important factors for success is for parents to full heartedly commit to teaching your kids. A parent who is consistent in being open and honest, who is willing to meet their kids where they are at (emotionally and spiritually), is going to be able to engage their children one way or another.
To help you out, The Gospel Coalition breaks down a few practical ways parents can capture their kids’ attention when teaching big biblical truths to them.
1. Pray
Ask God to illuminate the minds of your children to understand the big truths you are teaching them. It’s also important to remember to pray for yourself as the messenger of these truths, that you will effectively teach and engage with your children. Be intentional that as you pray for these things, you are building your faith that the Spirit will do it’s work in your children.
2. Make it relatable
TGC suggests that instead of sticking to safe Sunday school Bible stories, try to teach your children abstract theological truths. This is typically the most intimidating aspect of teaching big truths to kids because abstract thinking can be more difficult to teach. However, kids can surprisingly comprehend more than we think, we just need to be creative with our audience. Start by making concrete examples that are relatable to them. Use illustrations in life that they can relate with (hobbies, sports, friends, special interests, cartoons, school, computer games, etc.)
3. Make real-life connections
It’s important to help children be able to draw the line between theological truths and their personal lives. Knowing theological truths is one thing, applying it to this world and their personal situations is where the words become truth to them. Make sure to create age-appropriate applications that will capture their attention and help them more clearly understand.
4. Repeat
Repetition is key to helping children write these truths in their hearts. A one time encounter with a lesson on theological truths is not going to stick as much as reminders that are integrated into their daily lives. When situations arise, make opportunities to tie in theological truths. Adopt a mindset that understanding theological truths is going to be a lifelong practice.
As you journey through your own faith walk, your life and experience will be a demonstration of God at work in your life. How you handle situations, conversations, and whether you apply theological principles into your own life will be modeled to your children. Children are keen observers and will absorb a lot just from watching their parents. Use this to your advantage to show your children what it looks like to live a life of strength with the knowledge of God’s truth.
