One time, as I was about to conduct a funeral service, I happened to hear a mother trying to explain to her daughter what it meant to die. Standing next to the open casket of a beloved grandmother, the little one was told by the strugglinig mother, "This is only grandma's body, her spirit has left and gone to heaven. She's become an angel and will watch over us until we go to heaven to be with her."
Unfortunately this very emotional setting provided an opportunity for the sharing of serious misinformation. It was not, in my opinion, the right time for me to step forward and to instruct the little girl or her mother. I prayed that the Lord would provide a more appropriate venue.
While time passed, and this subject was on my mind, it happened that within a short period of time I heard the notion repeated several times by different individuals. It occurred to me that it must be a popular idea among many when they try to explain to small children the many questions that come up at the time of a death, especially when it is that of a dear family member.
Some weeks later, while attending a ladies' auxiliary meeting, the young mother was present and she came to me to express her appreciation for the funeral service we had had for her mother. As we visited, I mentioned that I had overheard the conversation she had with her daughter about what happened to grandma. She responded by saying that she didn't actually believe that her mother had become an angel, but that she had just said that to answer the question of her daughter. she went on to say: "When she gets older, I'll tell her what the Bible says."
I'll discuss the characteristics of angels in another post, but what I wanted to share with you here is the often heard and frequently practiced idea that there are two kinds of theology, one for adults and another for children. One of the popular examples of this is the concept of having two sermons in a Sunday service, one for the children and another for the adults.
Even though there is an advantage to using simple words and expressing profound ideas in a teaching setting by giving simple examples and/or drawing commonly understood comparisons, there is a disservice given to young and old alike when they are lead to believe that there are two different sets of theology or biblical teachings.
A better way is to simply get out the bible and with patient instruction read the word of God's answer to the questions that are being asked. A good study Bible with a concordance, or dictionary included should be on the table in every home. It should be read as a part of a regular routine, and discussed and explained in the presence of all who are present. Prayers should be offered as well, not to a departed relative or angel, but to our Heavenly Father himself. I have a Kindle that is always at the ready, other members of my family use an iPad. We use these modern tools as they prove to be handy and modern. When our family was young we had devotion time, and every child had their own Bible from which they were given opportunity to read as their skill set allowed. Sometimes we used the meditation booklet that we had from church, other times I would have selected sections of the Bible that taught specific lessons.
I encourage this practice today so that adults and children may grow together in the knowledge of God's love.
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