Mothers Always Ready to Give an Answer

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:6–7)

Throughout Scripture, fathers and mothers are exhorted to teach their children God’s commands and decrees on a daily basis. God has entrusted parents with the awesome responsibility of teaching the next generation and training them in the admonition of the Lord so that they may praise His name (Psalm 102:18). By immersing our children in Scripture, wisely answering their questions starting with God’s Word, and pointing them toward Jesus Christ, we are the generation that “shall praise [the Lord’s] works to another and shall declare [His] mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4).

A Wise Answer

As a young child, I was fascinated by science, specifically zoology and marine biology. I would eagerly pore over encyclopedias, learning all I could. While reading one marine biology book, I was startled to learn that millions of years ago whales had lost their legs and gone back into the ocean. I was puzzled—this did not sound right! I knew God created sea creatures on Day Five and land animals on Day Six of Creation Week.

So off I went to ask one of the smartest people I knew—my mom. Now my mom did not happen to know the scientific facts to rebut this particular contention right at that moment, but she gave me the best answer she could have—she directed me to God’s Word (Genesis 1 and 2). She gently explained that, because some people did not want to acknowledge a Creator or His account of what He did, they invented millions of years and evolution—the idea that one kind of creature turned into another kind—to explain what we see in the world. But, she explained, the Bible gives us the correct history of the universe, and we can trust it. She later made sure that I was equipped with resources to understand and interpret the fossil evidence from a biblical worldview.

Looking to God’s Word for Answers

I am very thankful that my mom took time out of her busy day of homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, washing yet another load of laundry, and raising fifteen children to answer my question, further spurring my interest to know more. Even more than that, I am thankful that she directed me to God’s Word to find the answer I was looking for. Her first answer to an inquiring six-year-old forever stuck in my mind. She taught me to start my thinking with God’s Word and to search for answers from this infallible foundation.

A Solid Foundation for Finding Answers

Our increasingly secular culture is built on the idea that man determines truth. Just like the Israelites in the time of the judges, we want to do what is right in our own eyes (Judges 21:25); this has become the ethic of the twenty-first century Western world. Sadly, many young people are being indoctrinated with this worldview through the media, the public school system, and their peers. Even Christian young people are not immune. In his eye-opening book Ready to Return, Ken Ham detailed research that shows an alarming trend. Of those young people who remain in the church, most do not think biblically. They think just like the world but somehow add God, church, and Jesus into the mix. This is tragic.

What can be done to combat this thinking? The solution starts with parents—mothers and fathers who are dedicated to, above all else, teaching their children to love Jesus Christ and to trust His Word. As fallible human parents, we will never know all the answers to every question inquiring little minds will ask. But it is important that we equip ourselves with a solid, biblical worldview and sound answers (1 Peter 3:15). We should start with Scripture and use that foundation to interpret what we see in the world, being fully confident that science will always confirm God’s Word. Answers in Genesis provides many free resources online or in our store, including a special kids website!

We should always direct our children back to the Word of God.

We should always direct our children back to the Word of God. This will help them to establish God’s Word as the starting point for their thinking and to view the world through this infallible lens. This sets them up for a lifetime of caring about what God thinks and looking to His Word for the answers to their questions.

Lord willing, our children will realize that God’s Word provides a solid foundation that the world cannot offer. With our guidance and the Lord’s help, they will become the next generation that “shall praise [the Lord’s] works to another and shall declare [His] mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4) so that “a people yet to be created may praise the Lord” (Psalm 102:18).