Who were the first people? Did they live with the dinosaurs? How do we know for sure? Our grandkids are ages 11, 9, 6, 5 and 4. They have good questions. Even the 4-year-old gets in on the action.
Questions
Our children encourage our grandkids to ask questions about life. What ensues is an honest expression of confident answers to big questions, as well as candidly responding with no answers when there are none.
Our grandkids know that the first people were Adam and Eve. They know that in the beginning God created the sun, moon, planets, stars, and everything else, including dinosaurs. But no one is sure if Adam and Eve saw a Stegosaurus.
Answers
My grandkids and I have more questions than answers. That’s OK in our family. Not every question has a certain answer. When I attended high school, my science teachers taught the answer to the question, “What is an atom made of?” was neutrons, electrons, and protons. Today, we know that these subatomic particles consist of even smaller particles.
The age of the earth, science, wonder, questions, things we don’t understand, these aren’t things that are meant to push us away from faith. All those are meant to draw us to Jesus. Science does not work contrary to faith in Jesus. Rather science should expand it. Questions, wonder, and mystery make good companions for a Christian. Certainty eliminates the need for trust in God.
Rational Thinking
Some think that to be a Christian means you must leave your brains behind. Some believe that Christians aren’t supposed to be rational thinkers; they are to be people of faith. Many believers put up roadblocks to critical thinking and the wonder of science. The belief of many has been that to embrace the sciences I must abandon faith. Not true.
I cannot say with certainty exactly how old the earth is, nor do I know how long one of God’s days is. Is intelligent design a reasonable argument? I have my opinions as do many. Also, the argument that you must agree one hundred percent with a certain interpretation of the creation story, or you might as well throw away your faith in God is completely off base.
Jesus is the creator of all. Nothing exists that he did not make. He holds all things together. He is the light called dark matter and dark energy.
Our grandkids make us think and help us wonder. They are a gift.
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