Week 11 - Youth Questions 3
What we talked about on Sunday
Sunday marked the third week this Fall where we spent the teaching time discussing questions asked by students. The questions we discussed and a summary of response is below.
“How do you know if your life is good?”
To go about answering this question well requires that we consider (1) what goodness means, and (2) who gets to determine what goodness is. If we look at Romans 5:12-21 we find answers to both of these questions. We find that through Adam sin (or badness) and death entered the good world that God had made (see Genesis 1:31). This sin—the corruption of goodness—was then passed down to all people through Adam. As a result, all people became corrupted and bad—unable to be good and live a good life on their own. However, just as all people were corrupted through the sin of Adam, so too now through Christ grace and goodness have come to all people. Therefore, all who have faith in Jesus, who believe in his death, resurrection, and Lordship over all creation, now receive the imputed righteousness of Christ (the righteousness of Christ put into us). In other words, all who have faith in Jesus have been made good in such a way that God sees them as he sees Christ. So to answer the question, how do we know if we have a good life? We know that we are good and have a good life if we have faith in Jesus. Because through faith we are made good and righteous by the One who is good and righteous.
“How come God made people only talk to other humans?
There are moments in Scripture where God makes animals talk to humans, although rare and unexpected (see, for example, Numbers 22).
We can never know for sure why God made people only talk to other humans. However, we can find comfort in the fact that God made us, unlike other animals and creatures, in his image. We are distinctly like God in a way no other beings are. Part of that distinction is found in our ability to communicate at a level animals cannot.
Despite animal’s inability to speak with us, God has given us the ability to communicate with animals. This is why dogs know what we mean when we say sit.
“What was the first language?”
The oldest written language we have record of is Sumerian (though some debate Tamil is older). However, similar to the previous question, we cannot know with certainty what the first language spoken was.
“Do alternate universes exist?” and “Why did God create so many planets when we are just on earth?”
Though different, like the previous two questions we cannot know with certainty whether alternate universes exist (like some kind of Marvel Multiverse), nor why we are just living on earth. However, we discussed how the existence of universes and other planets reveals to us God’s glory and magnificence, and studying these questions is a worthwhile endeavor because the answers would reveal to us more of God’s design and glory.
Continuing the Conversation at Home
Take a moment to think how you might answer these questions if you were asked by one of your kids. Would you engage their question? Would you dismiss it? Where would you look for answers? Would you encourage their curiosity? Where it applies, would you suggest looking to the Bible for answers? This week when your kids ask you a question like one of the above, try and engage it as best as you can. If applicable invite them to look at an applicable Bible passage. Or tell them you don’t know the answer and offer to learn more with them. Doing so will let your kids know that you care about what they are thinking, that you value what the Bible says, and that sometimes it’s okay to not have an answer for something.
The first question we discussed, “How do you know if your life is good?” was a great question that all the students were interested in. Find a time this week to ask your kids what they thought about this question. Remind them that their goodness and status before God is not dependent primarily on what they do, but in whom they believe.