“Where do we come from?”

“Where do we come from?” the five-year-old asks when I call on her.

I think I know what she’s asking, but I need further clarification. “Do you mean how are we born?” I ask.

“No, where did the world come from?”

She was asking one of the biggest and most debated questions: Where did life begin?

We were making a list, as we often do in the first week of Kindergarten; a list of things we want to learn about. This huge question is written in thick red marker on my chart paper, waiting for exploration.

I know what I want to say; what I believe to be true. But my role as an educator is to present all of the theories, rather than indoctrinating them with my own.

But, wait – another little boy has his hand up. “Did you know that we came from monkeys?” he asks, his eyes wide and innocent. Someone has already begun his education on the topic.

“That’s a theory,” I tell my class, using a word not many of them might have heard before. “A theory is something scientists tell us to explain something when it’s difficult to prove what really happened. Like with the extinction of the dinosaurs – no one was there to film it or write it all down. Scientists can only make educated guesses to explain what might have happened.”

I go back to my “Things We Want to Learn About” list and add “Unicorns” under “Pigs”. We can’t all be philosophers, asking the deep questions. Those bigger conversations will be left for another day.

It’s frustrating to be an educator in a public school system when children ask such questions. I will tell them about a book that was written over 2000 years ago which gives a clear explanation of creation. God created the heavens and the earth, and God created people. I wish I could stop there. Period. The end. Amen.

But, not everyone believes that, do they? The curiosity inside humans has lead us to question God’s Word and come up with our own theories about many topics – this being one of the largest.

It’s sad to think that children don’t know that God was our Creator. That means they also don’t know that Jesus loves them and wants to be there for them as they grow up. These innocent children are beginning a life without God.

In my Kindergarten class, I have hope. When we did our virtual intake meetings with each family, we asked parents if there were topics their child was really passionate about. One parent said, “God. He’s really into learning about God right now.” There may be a witness in the form of a peer who can sway his classmates to believe in God as our Creator, even if his teacher cannot push her own beliefs in the same way. I pray that, when our class conversation happens, God will use this little child as His spokesperson. Everyone should hear about God.

Lord, help us to find ways to spread the message of Your love and Your supremacy to others. When You ask us to love our neighbors, telling them about You is one of the ways You expect us to do that. Give us courage to speak up in a world filled with doubts and alternative theories. Use us to build Your Kingdom. Amen.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.

(Colossians 1:15-17)

Do you have opportunities to share God’s story? How can you impact someone’s life this week by introducing them to our Creator?

Ask God to lead you as we spread His message of love to a broken world.

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