We would have to say ‘yes’ to things like the bionic ear, refrigeration, anaesthetic, modern dentistry (not the price!).

Doctors who use their skills to do amazing things that were unheard of 50 years ago.

NO to land mines, drugs, chemical warfare, and nuclear weapons and washing up dishes!

God gave us the ability to dream, to plan and complete many of our ideas.

And- love and compassion are often behind great inventions.

Not convinced?

Animals have not been given that ability even though some are very clever.

Has an animal ever composed a song, made and played a flute, made a piano, invented a new game or cooked up lasagne or made ice-cream? No.

Can animals organise and play a game of chess, soccer or footie?

God, His Father in heaven, planned for Jesus to be here on earth only for a short while.

Why?

Well, Jesus home is in heaven and He had to leave us because His time was up. He is busy preparing a place for us in heaven!

The church (starting with the 12 disciples) had to learn to do without their leader.

Jesus said: “I will give you power (the Holy Spirit) and my presence will be with you.” (John 14:25-26).

The disciples may have grown to be dependant on Him so they had to learn to manage themselves, which they did very well.

The ‘Church’ now numbers around 2,000,000,000 members around the world.

Not bad for 12 beginners!

We could have a lot of fun without school.

Trouble is humans are here on earth to grow!

With nothing to do, we humans are inclined to go downhill and be naughty rather than good.

The Bible is full of stories of people doing just that with bad consequences too.

The seventy years on earth we have is a sort of school to teach us how to get along with others, to think about God, good, evil, and we (hopefully) have a normal life and to choose the way we will go in life. There is a lot to learn.

And, you need to know the price of things and if we have been given the right change in the shop.

And, we can learn to believe in Jesus and be a part of God’s family in heaven.

I have heard of many on talk-back radio who hated school, but have done very well in later life.

Well I am so glad he made you because you brought something to school that was very special and the class would not have been so good without you!

Nobody else was like you.

Wonderful! Six billion and not one is exactly like another.

God made the world and us so He could have a family who choose to believe in Jesus and be in heaven with Him. Much better than nothing.

Sometimes, ‘black days’, when everything seems to be wrong - helps us to like life later, when it all seems good.

Yes. The Bible records several of them. To stop the young children seeing and following their parent’s naughty ways (unbelief) God decreed that those who so quickly forgot His deliverance and other miracles, made them (those aged over 20 years old) wander in the desert for forty years till the oldies had died off. (Numbers 32:10-15)

On another occasion God sent snakes among His chosen ones till they cried out for mercy. Many died, but God provided a solution, by telling Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Just looking at the snake was the cure. (Numbers 21:4-9). All they had to do was 'believe-and-look!' But many refused and so they died!

Noah and the Flood was another. God saw that man had become very wicked. “God was sorry He had made them. It broke His heart.” So God wiped them all out except eight people. The lesson is still there. (Genesis chapters 6 to 8).

Something truly awful that God did was to have His only begotten Son - Jesus: be scoffed at, whipped, spat on and beaten, then crucified in great pain and suffering. Why? It was part of God’s ‘Rescue package’ to get us into heaven so God could have His family back with Him. Adam and Eve ‘messed up’ and God had to expel them from His presence.

Jesus is our ‘Pass’ into heaven. We could not be good enough by ourselves to get there.

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The Answerer

The Answerer - Peter Harris, answered children's questions from his many years of teaching "Scripture" classes.
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