What does your child think God looks like? For many kids, the answer is terrifying: a cosmic policeman, a disappointed principal, a demanding scorekeeper.
Incarnational Theology Made Simple
The New Testament makes a stunning claim: Jesus is 'the exact representation' of God (Hebrews 1:3). If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. And what do we see in Jesus?
- A God who gathers children onto His lap, not away from it.
- A God who defends the broken, not the powerful.
- A God who parties with sinners rather than religious rule-keepers.
- A God who dies for His enemies rather than destroying them.
Delight vs. Judgment
Here's the question: Does your child believe God delights in them, or merely tolerates them?
Children often project their experience of authority figures onto God. If they've primarily experienced conditional love—love earned through performance—they'll assume God operates the same way.
How to Help
- Tell stories of Jesus with children. 'Do you know what Jesus said when people tried to send the kids away? He got upset! He said, 'Let them come! The kingdom belongs to kids like you!'
- Watch your own language. Do you speak of God as someone to be feared or delighted in?
- Model grace. Your child's first theology is formed by how you treat them.