Wrestling with the Mysterious

It's always interesting to watch your kids grapple with the mysteries of the great I AM. They always think they've got Him figured out, and they're wondering why the adults don't get it.

Jacob is learning much about God -- at least, I think he is. We talk often about Him, and questions from Jake come up regularly. At dinner tonight, he announced (yet another) concept he "got" about the Lord.

"Momma, you know what? When I sleepin', God sees me. You know how? He lookin' in the window."

"Well, no, Jake, actually God doesn't need to look in the window. He just sees you. All the time. He isn't blocked by our roof or walls. He can just see, even in the dark!"

"How He do that?"

"I don't know, Bud, He just can! He's God! He's everywhere all the time and sees everyone all the time!"

"He in our house?"

"Well... yeah. Pretty much..." (God, are You IN my house? or just hovering? I mean, I know You're just there, everywhere, not hemmed in by walls... How do I explain the mind-blowingness of You?)

"OH!! I KNOW how He get in our house!!"

"How, Buddy?"

"He got him KEY!!" (giggles from the 12-year-old)

I don't want to paint a picture of the Lord being bound by human constraints, so I insist: "No, Jacob, He doesn't need a key!"

"OH! I get it now. You leave the door open?"

Omnipresence. Even I don't get it.

Later, at bed time, I was singing to Jacob, a song requested by him: "Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; great is our Lord, and mighty in strength. Great is our Lord, I lift up my voice, I lift up my voice..."

Climbed to the top bunk to kiss my 7-year-old. He announced that he's just composed (yet another) song. Did I have time to listen? Absolutely!

"Well, Mom, it's sorta like that song you were singing, but different. It goes..."

[And here's where I wish I'd had a camcorder around. You gotta imagine this sleepy little guy, singing in his tough guy monotone... had this sorta Bob Dylan thing going... And I can't remember all of the lyrics that went to this VERY long song, but most of them were sorta like this:]

"My Lord is so strong, He is so powerful. He ca-a-a-n ke-e-e-i-illl you if He wants to. He can just knock you offa this planet if you live on it... If He wants to... Because you are a si-i-i-i-nneeerrr... We are all si-i-i-nnneeerrsss... So shout it out loud!! Sing it real loud! Praise Him!... Yeah... yeah.... yeah...."

Well... I thanked him for sharing. Told him it was powerful, full of truth. Made a mental note to self: "teach more on the merciful, kind, compassionate nature of God at breakfast."

God is big. He alone illumines our minds to know what we can about Him. And it is exciting beyond description to know that we see but a tiny glimpse of Him -- and that we will know Him fully when we stand before His throne! How will our brains not explode?

In the meantime, I continue to ask for wisdom in how to teach my kids about this mysterious, eternal Lord.