Kids Say the Darndest Things


I’ve noticed how my three young grandsons have become professional questioners? At some point in their development when everything is normal, life is humming along quite nicely, a shift took place. “Grandad, why is the sky blue? How did it get to be blue anyway? Is there something behind it?” “Grandawn, why is yellow called ‘yellow’?” This how they roll now.

I remember Art Linkletter, long ago, back in the 1960’s had a very popular daily variety show with a segment titled, “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” took this childlike questioning routine and reversed it to get laughs. Many times the endless questions children ask parents is no laughing matter and can sometimes be a source of irritation and nuisance because kids ask the darndest things. The reason, kids ask their parents questions, is because they believe their parents truly know the answers. In a strange sort of way, it is the asking of the question that shows their greatest sense of faith. This has all kinds of implications.

For instance, some people believe that to question God is the ultimate form of disobedience. Questioning God shows a lack of faith. I don’t agree. Time and again in the Bible you come across people who cried out to God. They cried out to God because they knew that He had been faithful in the past, and that they needed Him to be faithful once again in the present. “God, where are you? I thought you were a loving God. Where’s this loving God that I thought you were?” Perhaps you’ve asked the same kinds of questions. When you ask hard questions of God, you are standing in the flow of this ancient tradition, one that is captured time and again in the Scriptures. “How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David?” (Psalm 89:46, 49)

It is in the asking of your honest, gut-wrenching questions, the ones filled with doubts and frustration, that you are expressing a deep sense of faith. You are His child! Cry out to God! When in your frustration and doubt, cry out to Him because you believe that He is the only one who can do something about it. Wherever you are in your faith journey, know that you can come to your Heavenly Father honestly with your questions, your doubts and your frustrations. It just might be the most faith-filled thing you can do.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.   Although this rule was first applied in Italy when Pareto was looking at the dispersal of wealth, it has since become a rule of thumb for many businesses.   It has been said that 20% of your workforce does 80% of the work, or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.   I think this law comes into play in our lives as well.   Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% what you make of it. There are tons of stories about people who come out of difficult situations — gang life, in and out of jail, drug addiction, broken families, abuse – yet still seem to rise to the top.   And of course, there are many stories of those who have been given everything they would n
Read more

FREEDOM’S PRICE

In 1781, the Fourth of July was named a national holiday and today fireworks, parades and picnics still mark this celebration. Because on July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence proclaimed the thirteen colonies free from British rule. What proceeded and followed this declaration were the historic battles still taught in every elementary school. For six years the colonies shook with the Battles of Concord and Lexington, Bunker Hill and Saratoga. The war finally ended at Valley Forge where British General Cornwallis surrendered to what would be the United States’ first president, George Washington. Two years later the British and the Americans signed a peace treaty in France. Freedom does not come without a price. Through the Revolutionary War our nation’s freedom was paid for by the blood and sacrifice of the men and women who fought for their dream of what would become the United States. The battles were not easy, and the years took their toll on our young nation. In t
Read more

WALK THE TALK

As far as your spiritual life is concerned religious talk is not good enough. The apostle John makes this clear in his little epistle 1 John 2:4-6. If someone claims, “I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. John is not talking about sinless perfection here but rather that a Christ-follower is to relate to others the way Jesus did. In other words we have to walk the walk like Jesus. Walking as Jesus walked begins with loving other people. Christ-followers have tried to make Christianity more difficult than it really is. We’ve make it about church membership, or a particular theological persuasion, or saying the right words during baptism, or what version of the Bible is the only one to be used. The apostle is clear. W
Read more