The question of a 3rd grader

By Alicia Jones

Is there a God? He asked.

Doesn’t every human on the face of the earth ask this question at some point in their life, if not multiple times? But he is only nine years old and in the 3rd grade! If that question didn’t shock me during our Bible club this afternoon, then the answers from the other students really shook me.

We were having a lesson on humility. We had taught that God will lift up those who humble themselves before Him. I was a bit concerned that the lesson was going over the heads of these 3rd graders as we talked about our future big feast in Heaven. But when this particular feisty little boy blurted out his question, I immediately remembered my unspoken prayer on our way into the school building, “Lord, work today in the hearts of these children!”

He was doing His work!

Following the question, two hands on the front row flew up, while a third child grumbled, “there is no God.” The little girl shared that yes, there is a God because she and her family go to a church gathering every Sunday. When her mother had a brain aneurism and became deathly ill, her father prayed that God would call her home. The next day she passed away into peace. That was her testimony that there is a God. She has seen His grace.

The little boy next to her explained his conviction that there is a God and those who serve Him earn a place in Heaven and those who serve the devil a place in Hell. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. But to these testimonies, the child who asked, “Is there a God?” responded verbally, “There is no God!”

Two professed their faith in God and two professed their disbelief. Even 3rd graders are being transformed by God’s spirit and are busy making life-impacting decisions about spiritual things.

The 3rd graders with their crowns, representing the crowns God's people will receive in Heaven one day.