Bedtime is the time for questions, right? I remember that the kids I took care of in high school would suddenly have a bunch of questions right at bedtime.
The bedtime story tonight was on Jesus choosing his disciples. First it talked about Peter & Andrew... “Mom, wasn’t Peter a disciple?” Yes.
Once we got through the story...
“Mom, is the Devil real? Who was he when he was in Heaven? Was he the Angel who visited Mary?”
First, I got to explain the fall of Angels and that an archangel is a type of angel (left it at that simple explanation for now.
Since we’re on the topic of Jesus’ mother, he then had a litany of questions regarding why Jesus had to die, whether He really got stabbed in the side while on the cross, what He said about forgiving those who hung him on said cross (and what it means). And what caused the earthquake when Jesus died? Was it his tear?
Then my kid was back to Angels which he kept calling people so I clarified that Angels are not people.
“What do we become when we die?”
“We’re still people but if we believe in Jesus, we go to heaven. We do not become angels when we die.”
“What happens to angels when they sin? How do they get back to heaven?”
“They don’t. People are special. God sent Jesus so that people can choose to have a relationship with God. He gave people a way to heaven even though we sin.”
“But not angels?”
“Not angels. When they decided to follow Lucifer instead of God, they got kicked out right along with Lucifer.”
“Ooohhh.”
This has strengthened my conviction that we (meaning people who claim to follow Jesus) need to stop dumbing down Scripture for the kids... throw in a little depth now and then. They’re listening and trying to piece it together and we’re not doing them any favors by leaving gaps.
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