5 Hard Questions Pre-Teens Ask...and How to Answer Them

In January, we are starting a new series with our pre-teens that will dive into the nature and character of God.

A critical part of the series will be talking about the hard questions that pre-teens ask (or hesitate to ask, but think about). 

It's important to give kids space to ask the hard questions.  If you don't, they will ask them later in high school or college where they may get the wrong answers and have a faith crisis.

Better yet, instead of waiting for them to ask...be pro-active and bring the questions to them.  Here's 5 of the questions we'll be talking about with our pre-teens and the answers we'll explore with them.

Question #1 - If God is all-powerful, then why doesn't He stop the devil and evil?

Answer: 
  • God doesn't do evil.  The devil and people do.
  • God doesn't remove evil because then we wouldn't have the ability to choose to love Him.  We would become like robots with no choice.
  • The devil is an example of this.  He chose to not love God.  If God had immediately destroyed him, it would have shown that God wants to rule by fear instead of love.
  • One day, God will stop the devil and evil once and for all, but not until He has given all people the opportunity to choose His love and forgiveness.
Question #2 - If God is powerful and can control nature, why does He allow natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes?

Answer:  
  • God created a perfect world, but it has been broken by sin.
  • Natural disasters are a tragic part of life on this broken earth.
  • God can prevent natural disasters from occurring and does at times.  An example is Jesus calming the storm at sea.
  • Sometimes God doesn't prevent natural disasters so our attention is refocused on Him and the greatness of His power.
  • God can also use natural disasters to bring about a greater good.
  • We can't always understand why God doesn't prevent disasters.  But when we don't have all the answers, we must depend on God's power and trust that "all things work together for good to those who love Him."
Question #3 -  If God is all-knowing, why did He create Adam and Eve since He knew they would sin?

Answer:
  • God created all things for His glory.
  • He knew Adam and Eve would sin, but He created them anyway and gave them the choice to sin or not.
  • Because God knew we would sin, He also knew He would make a way that we could be forgiven through His Son's death on the cross.
  • Without sin, we would not have been able to experience God's mercy and forgiveness.
  • Adam and Eve's choice became the way God's ultimate will was carried out and through which His glory was revealed.
Question #4 - If God is loving, why does He allow us to hurt and go through hard times?

Answer:  
  • God created the world as a perfect place.  Everything was good.
  • When man sinned, it brought suffering into the world.
  • We suffer because it's part of the broken world we live in.
  • Sometimes we also suffer because of our own bad choices.
  • Sometimes God also uses the hard times we go through to help us become more like Jesus and depend on Him more.
Question #5 - How can God be 3 distinct persons and yet be 1 God at the same time?

Answer:
  • This is called the Trinity.  Tri means 3 and unity means 1.  Trinity means 3 in 1.
  • The three divine Persons are perfectly equal to one another, because all are one and the same God.
  • None of the three Persons precedes the others in time or in power, but all are equally eternal and all-powerful because they have the same divine nature.
  • As humans, we cannot full understand the complexity of God, but we believe because God's Word says it.
The floor is yours.  What other hard questions should be addressed with pre-teens?  Share with us in the comment section below.