A Seven Year Old’s BIG Answer

During family devotion last night, I intended to ask some hard questions about a familiar story–Daniel and the lions den. My first question was, “Who is the hero of this story?” Answer: “God.” (If any of you are familiar with Desiring God Curriculum for children, you know the emphasis is to regain a God-centered telling of the Bible. I highly recommend this curriculum to you.)

The next question I asked (a 6 & 7 year old) was, “If God was able to shut the lions’ mouths then why didn’t He just keep Daniel from going to the lions’ den?” Answer from my 7 year old: “Because it is impossible for a man to be thrown into a lions’ den and not be eaten and God wanted to reveal Himself to everybody by doing the impossible.” Of course, that answer made a dad very thankful to the Lord.

I then asked, “Why did God save Daniel and not the others thrown into the den?” Answer: “Because Daniel trusted the Lord.” I would encourage you not to withhold hard questions from your children. Certainly, this is not the first day we have had devotion. So that is where to start. Teach your children. Equip them to follow the Lord in this world. Don’t shelter them from everything. And don’t think they will figure out how they ought to do things (you even have to teach them how to PLAY with each other in a God-honoring way…they don’t know). Equip them.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.