What will you say if a child asks?

I like to encourage people to seek the answers to what I believe are the key questions of life.  I suggest this, in part, because I know that children will at some time or another confront the grown-ups in their lives with a need for answers.  The answers we give them will not provide the final word on the subject but will give them various points of reference for developing their own answers as adults.

These key questions are the building blocks for what is called a "World View"  Everyone has a world view of some kind or another. It forms the foundation for everything we say and do.

In general a person's world view can be defined by answering the following questions:

1) Where do we come from?  How did we get here?

2) What determines our standards for right and wrong?

3) What is our purpose?  Why are we here?

4) Where do we go after this life?  What happens when we die?

In summary, a person's world view is made up of their answers to questions about origin, morality, meaning and destiny.

The book "Have a Little Faith” challenges the reader to examine their world view, to answer these questions for themselves. The author, Mitch Albom, does not prescribe a specific path but suggests that we all have a need to be part of something bigger than ourselves. I agree with this whole-heartedly. Erwin McManus writes, "If life was just about me it wouldn’t be very interesting or fulfilling".

What is my advice regarding this? Avoid becoming trapped inside the comfort, safety and security of the “Small World of Self”. Take the risk of reaching out beyond yourself to something bigger.