Guest Blogger Crystal Bowman is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than 100 books for children and families. She also writes stories for Clubhouse Jr. magazine, and lyrics for children’s piano music. Her books have been published in more than a dozen languages and have sold three million copies worldwide. Her heart’s desire it to tell children how much God loves them and cares for them.
Big Doctrines for Little Minds—Helping children understand biblical truths that will shape the rest of their lives.
As a Christian children’s author, my main message to children is that God loves them and cares about them very much. But children can understand deeper biblical truths as well. The word ‘doctrine’ describes what we believe and why.
Let’s look at some basic doctrines that we can teach young children to help them understand God’s role in their life and the world around them:
God is Real
I was born and raised in a Christian home, attending church and Sunday school and listening to Bible stories. But my personal connection (without the aid of teachers or parents) was when I saw God in nature. Living in the Midwest I saw God in the change of season, especially in autumn when squirrels gathered acorns, and noisy geese flew overhead in V formation. I knew at a young age that God told them what to do and where to go.
One way we can explain God’s existence to young children is by talking about the wind. We cannot see the wind, but we can see what it does. Wind blows a sailboat across a lake. It blows the leaves on a tree and carries a kite through the air. In the same way, we know God is real because we can see what He does. We can look at the sun, moon, and stars He created. We can see God’s beauty in rainbows and sunsets, and we can see His power in a mighty ocean. Children can have a greater awareness of God’s existence by learning to recognize His active work in the world around them.
God Loves Us
If children are raised in a loving home, they understand what it means to love and be loved. God’s love is greater than any love they will ever know. God shows His love for us in many ways, and as parents and grandparents, we can help children recognize the many ways He loves us.
God provides our food, clothes, family, friends, home, and even pets. Thank God for these specific things when you pray with your kids to teach them that everything they have is from God.
Psalm 103:11 says – for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him. When you’re outside with your children, ask them how high they think the sky is. Then tell them God’s love is even greater than that.
The greatest way that God showed His love for us is by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins—and that’s not too heavy for young children because it has a happy ending. We introduce children to Jesus at Christmas. The story of Baby Jesus is one that children love. But at Easter, we can tell them why Jesus came. Jesus died on the cross so God would forgive our sins. But that’s not the end of the story! Jesus came back to life and went to heaven so that we can go to heaven someday too. Isn’t that wonderful?
The Doctrine of Grace
The way to teach grace is to help children understand that God already loves us, and we don’t have to earn His love. Grace is when God gives us blessings we don’t deserve. It’s like getting a present when it’s not your birthday or getting an A even though you got some answers wrong. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
When we teach children that God loves us no matter what we do, it removes the burden of having to be perfect. But we can also teach them that God is pleased when we do what is right, and we can ask God to help us obey.
A Child of God
The two basic needs that young children have are a sense of belonging and a sense of security. In a loving Christian home, many children have those needs met, but we can meet those needs more deeply by telling them how to be a child of God. When they believe in Jesus, God is their Father, and they become God’s child. Not all kids have a two-parent home, or a secure environment. When they see themselves as part of God’s big family, it gives them more security and belonging.
What Is Faith?
When teaching an abstract concept such as faith, it’s important for children to be shown what faith looks like, so they can understand its meaning through concrete examples. Noah had faith when God told him to build a boat even though it had never rained. Abraham had faith when God told him to move to another country, even though God didn’t tell him where to go. The woman who suffered with a bleeding disease had faith when she touched the hem of Jesus’ robe to be healed. Through sharing stories like these from the Bible, children can learn what it means to not only have faith and trust in God, but to put their faith into action.
The Bible’s Message
Children learn familiar Bible stories at home or in Sunday school, but it’s important for them to understand that the Bible is also one big story that tells about God’s love for His people and His plan to save us from sin. As children spend time reading the Bible or using devotionals to help them learn more about the Bible, they will grow in their knowledge and understanding of who God is and how He wants us to live. They will learn how the Old Testament tells us about God’s promise to send a Savior, and how the New Testament fulfills that promise through Jesus.
There are many other Bible doctrines that young children can understand if they are taught with age-appropriate examples and kid-friendly language. God is real, and His love and grace are amazing. Let’s pass our faith to the next generation by keeping them filled with the truth of God’s Holy Word.
MORE ABOUT CRYSTAL
As a freelance editor and writing coach, Crystal enjoys helping writers of children’s stories find the right voice and technique to reach a young audience. From rhyming picture books and board books, to beginning readers and stories in prose, Crystal uses her 30 years of experience to instruct and guide writers on their publishing journey.
Her newest release, published by Tyndale Kids is R is for Risen, an alphabet picture book that tells the Easter story in chronological order.
You can connect with Crystal Bowman on her website and on social media at:
http://www.crystalbowman.com
https://www.facebook.com/crystaljbowman/
https://www.facebook.com/crystal.bowman.3958
http://christianchildrensauthors.com/
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