God isn't Threatened

For a long time, I felt like I needed to stand up for God. I felt like I needed to protect and defend Him. I thought it was my responsibility to explain to people about God and to have an answer for everything.

What a jerk I was.

Thankfully, the continuance of the faith doesn't rest on my shoulders. God's work doesn't hinge on my abilities as an orator. If it actually did, we'd be in a much worse place than we currently find ourselves.

I don't recall the specific moment when my thinking transitioned, but the way I see it now is that God isn't threatened by anything we have to throw at Him. No logic or reasoning or scientific discovery is able to scare God. I don't think He's nervously sitting on the edge of His throne wondering if we'll figure out the secrets of the Higgs boson and no longer have a need for Him.

God isn't threatened by my strength or my weakness. He isn't threatened by my doubt. He isn't threatened by science or by atheism. He just isn't threatened by anything. I don't have to protect Him. It's not my job to defend God.

So how is this relevant to the theme of this site? Well, like I said, I felt responsible for God's defense for a long time and I behaved in a way that I'm sure was unhelpful for other people and unhealthy for myself. It's important to me that I set the example for my kids. It's important that I display the characteristics that I want them to emulate.

I want my kids to have a faith in God that is strong enough to endure doubt and questioning. The way to achieve that is to encourage them to ask questions and to search for answers with an honest and open heart. Suppressing your kid's doubts is a sure-fire way to grow them and will leave your kids unprepared to deal with the doubt when you're not around.

It's ok to not have all the answers. If your kid asks you a question that you can't answer, tell him so and offer to research it with him. Show him how to study the Bible by doing it with him. Set the example and don't worry about threatening God. He can take it.