“Does God fight Satan now?”

The question from the backseat startled me. I might have even swerved on the bucolic back road we travel daily to and from school. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but my eight-year-old son got me that time. He has become a master of the out-of-nowhere, no context, let’s-stump-Mom question.

But he’s truly curious, not just mischievous. I blame his Action Bible for all the inquisitive questions he asks at random moments. He takes it to church most Sundays, and sometimes Wednesdays, and often curls up with it during the week. He says he’s read the entire thing at least once, and his favorite scenes many times.

I probably drove about half a mile saying, “Ummm . . .” before my thoughts organized. “Well, Satan fights against God.”

Son: Because he hates God? Why?

Me: He wanted to be as powerful as God. He thinks he’s “all that.” So God threw him out of heaven…

Son, interrupting: Way before the universe was created!

Me: Yeah, and now Satan likes to use us to fight God. But he won’t win at the end. God will.

Son: How does God win?

I did not want to delve into end times theology. Talk about a detour down a pot-hole-riddled road. What sort of theology can an eight-year-old understand and emotionally handle? My husband and I regularly weigh our answers, because he regularly asks questions like this one.

When our kids have asked questions about God, our policy has always been to point them back to what the Bible says. Over the years, thanks to a wonderful children’s ministry at our church, our encouragement to read their Bibles and talk about God regularly in our home, and their natural curiosity, all of our kids know quite a bit of doctrine, Bible, and theology for their ages. The trick isn’t getting them to learn more. It’s getting them to internalize it so that mental information become heart transformation.

We want them not just to know about God; we want them to love God.

Encouraging children’s spiritual growth happens a number of ways. But all of them pre-suppose that the parents have and are continuing to increase their own biblical literacy and spiritual maturity. So, mom and dad, are you reading your Bibles? Attending church and/or a small group? Are the Bible and God’s way important to you? Kids pick up on hypocrisy really quickly. You will find it difficult to encourage behavior that you do not value yourself. But let’s assume here that your own spiritual growth progresses well. These faith-focused strategies with our kids have worked for us: