My oldest asked me yesterday why God lets bad things happen if he loves us. I froze. I gave some answer about free will but honestly I don't think it landed. How do you guys handle these conversations with your kids? I want to give them real answers not just the Sunday school stuff.
Have you read through some of the wisdom literature in the Bible with them? Job, Psalms where guys are literally complaining to God? Showed my kids that even people in the Bible questioned everything.
This reminds me of when my kid asked why God didn't just make everyone good. I said because love has to be a choice or it's not real. She thought about that for like an hour which was wild to watch.
The God and suffering question is one of the hardest ones. I told my daughter that faith doesn't mean nothing bad happens, it means we're not alone when it does. Not perfect but she seemed to actually get it.
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I froze on this exact question two weeks ago and just said I didn't know. My son actually seemed okay with that answer. Sometimes admitting you don't have all the answers is more honest than making something up.
Don't feel too bad about freezing up. These are the hardest questions in all of theology and you're supposed to answer them on the spot with your 10 year old. You're doing fine.