12-year-old Lucy Smith rushed into the living room, clutching her Bible, tears on her cheeks.
“Daddy, I’m scared!”
“Aww…come here, baby.” She ran to her father’s open arms, and he enveloped her in a gentle hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Everything’s going to be fine.” She snuggled tight against him, absorbing his warmth.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
She sniffled in his arms a moment, then released from his embrace and sat by him on the couch. She opened her bible to a bookmarked page and pointed to a line. “Right here, Daddy. This scares me.”
“What scares you? Read it to me.”
“Hosea 13:16. It says, ‘The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open.’”
“Daddy, this is terrible!” If God loves the whole world, then why would he kill children? And why would he kill unborn babies? Like the baby mommy’s carrying in her tummy? I’m scared for her too.
“It’s God’s punishment for people who disobeyed him,’ he replied. “For sinning.”
“Will God kill me if I sin? Or kill Mommy’s baby?”
“Oh, no, honey! It was only for people from a long time ago, in the Old Testament; it doesn’t apply to us today. We are under the New Testament.”
“Okay, Daddy. But the Ten Commandments are in the Old Testament too; don’t they apply to us today? I’m confused.”
He looked away in thought. “Well, yes, they apply to us today because they are God’s moral rules that all people should obey and live by, in all times”
“But Mrs. Brown—my Sunday School teacher—she says that all the Bible is God’s word. She said God never changes, and he’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. If God killed kids because of sin a long time ago, why wouldn’t he do it today?”
“He won’t, dear. Trust me.” His probing eyes locked with hers. “And why are you reading Hosea, anyway? It’s more for adults than children.”
“Mrs. Brown taught a lesson from Hosea last Sunday. She said the book of Hosea is a love story, so I decided to read it.”
“But some parts of the Bible are more difficult for kids. I think you should wait to read it when you’re a little older and can understand it better. I’ll talk to Mrs. Brown about it next Sunday.”
Lucy’s face flushed red. “No, please don’t talk to Mrs. Brown; that would be embarrassing. And I do understand it, Daddy. Pastor Smith says that the Bible is the literal word of God, and we should read it every day, and I do. But some of it’s really scary, like this.”
“Yes, honey, some of it can be a little scary or hard to understand, but it’s God’s word and we shouldn’t question his ways. He put it in the Bible for a reason, even if we don’t understand all of it. His ways are higher than ours, and we have to take things we don’t know by faith and trust him.”
“Listen, sweetie, God loves you and will never hurt you. He’s your heavenly father, just like I’m your earthly father. You can trust him. And you can trust me.”
Lucy closed her bible and nuzzled her head into his broad chest. “I trust you, Daddy.”
He didn’t really answer her question, but she would put it on the shelf with the other unanswered questions. Until next time. Because every time she read the holy book, she had more questions.
