In continuing with my Bible story series (find out more here) I read M (almost 4 years old) and J (15 months old) the story of the tower of Babel from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Here’s the transcript of our storytime.
Note: I didn't transcribe every sentence of the Bible story. The bolded lines are quotes from the Jesus Storybook Bible.
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Mamo: (M was very interested in playing “school” this day) We can teach our pretend students about this Bible story.
M: Yeah. I listened to this one before!
Mamo: Yeah. “There were lots of people on Earth once more”. You see all the people?
M: Yeah. Why are they walking backwards?
Mamo: I don’t think they’re walking backwards.
“Now, back then, everyone spoke exactly the same language so you didn’t need to learn Swahili or Japanese or anything because you could say, “Hello!” to anyone and they knew what you meant.”
You know how we have family in Japan? We would have known what they meant without speaking Japanese.
M: Why are there 2 pictures?
Mamo: To show lots of people. Nowadays where you do see lots of people?
M: Here, North America, South America.
Mamo: What about at school?
M: Mmm, maybe each day a little and another day a lot and maybe another day a little bit.
Mamo: Yeah, it’s not the same all the time. But you know what they say right? Because they speak english.
M: But I don’t know the amount of kids.
Mamo: That’s ok.
Mamo: Can I continue?
“‘And let’s build a really tall tower to reach up to heaven!’”
Do you think you can build a tower tall enough to reach Heaven?
M: No.
Mamo: No. Heaven’s not actually up high. It’s just a different place.
“We’ll be like God. We’ll be famous and safe and happy and everything will be all right.”
Can you be like God?
M: No!
Mamo: “So they got to work. Brick by brick, the tower grew, higher and higher, until it soared above the city, touching the sky. They built stairs in the tower to climb to the top. It was like a giant staircase to heaven. ‘Look!’ they cheered. “We’re the ones! See what we can do with our very own hands!’ They were quite pleased with themselves. But God wasn’t pleased with them.”
Why do you think God wasn’t pleased with them?
M: I don’t know.
Mamo: They’re trying to do things without Him.
M: Mm.
Mamo: “They were trying to live without him, but God knew that wouldn’t make them happy or safe or anything. If they kept on like this, they would only destroy themselves, and God loved them too much to let that happen. So he stopped their plans.”
M: Why did they stop?
Mamo: Just like if J goes into a room that’s not safe. I love him too much to let him get hurt by something in there.
M: Yeah, like that sharp thing in your room.
Mamo: Yeah, God loves us too much to let us get hurt.
“One morning, they went to work as usual but everything was different - their words were all new and funny.”
Why were their words new and funny?
M: I don’t know.
Mamo: “God had given each person a completely different language! Suddenly, no one understood what anyone else was saying.”
(J coos)
“Someone would say ‘How do you do?’ and the other person thought they said, ‘How ugly are you!” It wasn’t funny. You could be saying something nice like, ‘Such a lovely morning!’ and get a punch in the nose because they thought you said, ‘Hush up, you’re boring!’”
So, what if I have a new language. Be bo ba. Boo boo ba pa. You’re not understanding what I say right? Do you want to do a new language?
M: Ah ba dutty ba ook so do sa joosey. (it continued)
Mamo: See, I don’t know what you’re saying.
M: Yeah.
Mamo: If we used those languages we wouldn’t know what we were saying. If you’re tired or hungry or what.
M: Then I’d speak english.
Mamo: It’d be easier if we all spoke the same language, right? But they were getting in trouble when they all spoke the same language so God made them speak different languages.
M: Mm.
Mamo: “It wasn’t easy to work together...After that, people scattered all over the world (which is how we ended up with so many different languages to this day).” Oh, scattered, you used that word the other day when you said things were scattered on the floor (We’d been surprised because we didn’t know he knew that word). Is this where you learned that word?
M: Yeah.
Mamo: Oh. So what does scattered mean? It means all over the place.
“God knew, however high they reached, however hard they tried, people could never get back to heaven by themselves. People didn’t need a staircase; they needed a Rescuer.”
You know who the Rescuer is?
M: No.
Mamo: Think about it, who came to save us?
M: Gooood
Mamo: Jesus.
“Because the way back to heaven wasn’t a staircase; it was a Person.”
M: Start calling God, “God”.
Mamo: Well, I’m talking about Jesus though. Jesus came in the form of a person and He died for us and rose again. I know it’s kind of confusing. Are you thinking about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one, are the same?
M: Yeah.
Mamo: But they’re also different. Remember, how I talked about that egg? There’s 3 parts of the egg but it’s all one egg, one thing. There’s the shell, yolk, and egg white.
M: Yeah, like hard boiled eggs.
Mamo: Hard boiled eggs. Exactly. There’s the shell, the white part, and the yellow part. The yellow part is the part you don’t like, remember? So there’s 3 parts. There’s God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They’re all different but all one. Does that make sense?
M: Now I know it, NOW! YEAH!
Mamo: “People could never reach up to Heaven, so Heaven would have to come down to them. And, one day, it would.” I’m so thankful Jesus came to rescue us. Because people can make mistakes. What was the mistake people made in this story?
M: I don’t know.
Mamo: Well, they were trying to get to Heaven. Who were they trying to be?
M: God.
Mamo: God can be God but we can’t be God. .
M: Yeah.
Mamo: We’re a lot smaller than God.
M: (raspberry sound with his mouth) You guys are a lot bigger.
Mamo: Yeah, but we’re still smaller than God and we don’t know as much as God. And we can’t be everywhere like God can. So there’s no way we can ever be God.
M: Yeah, but we can be everywhere by driving and flying.
Mamo: We’re still only in one place. God is everywhere in the whole world, in every heart that wants him at the same time. So he doesn’t have to travel on planes like we do.
So the mistake they made was that they wanted to be God and do what God does. We can’t do what God does.
(M was making plane flying noises with his mouth)
Mamo: Are you a plane now? Haha. Hey, do you want to make a tower out of blocks like the story?
M: Yeah, big.
Mamo: Yeah, big tower!
M: How about with those cardboard blocks?
Mamo: Yeah. Let’s do that. Good idea. Let’s get them out.
M: Mommy, first, can you put J in, in… (he wanted J to be contained)
Mamo: He’s going to play with us. Oh, are you wanting him not to knock down the tower?
M: Yeah.
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I understand M’s thought process when he didn’t want his brother to knock down his tower because there are times when I don’t want what I’ve been working on to be knocked down/rejected or to not go the way I wanted. He and I will encounter many frustrating knock-us-down moments because it builds trust that God is in control, not us. It also can teach us that what we think of as bad may not be bad with a perspective change. If J knocks down his tower it gives M a chance to build one again, which might even be better than the previous one. We may think that the "tower" we're working on is perfect and that we can handle what life throws at us on our own, but that is not how God meant an abundant life to be. God tells us to surrender to Him. Meaning that we can call out to Him and trust Him with what's in front of us. I can’t get all the way up to Heaven on my own, but Heaven can come down to me. When I don’t recognize Heaven as coming down- Jesus as being in control- my kids and I seem to easily come up with scary knock-us-down “what ifs” where we feel alone and scattered- What if the scary thunder goes on forever? What if what I say is not what I mean to say and turns out poorly? What if we get Covid? What if my school closes? What if we don’t get to see friends? What if we miss out on everything good?
How do I get out of that destroying “what if” spiral? Shifting my perspective from “what ifs” to “if thens” allows a way to acknowledge that God is in control and is doing the heavy lifting in our lives. Even if it seems like something bad to us, God can use it for good. If scary thunder goes on longer than my son wants, then he can snuggle closer to the parents God has blessed him with. If I say the wrong thing - was it really the wrong thing or could God still use it for good or to demonstrate Grace (undeserved love) towards myself? If we get Covid, then we will quarantine and be sustained in God’s love. If my school closes then I will find other ways to become great at my job and connect with others. If we don’t get to see friends like pre-Covid, then we will get creative (Hello, driveway playdates) and use technology in a new way. (Romans built roads that allowed the Gospel to spread. Let's use what culture has provided for God's good) If we miss out on events that we did pre-Covid, then we will find things to still be thankful for and start new traditions.
When my perspective changes I can imagine that, perhaps these things happen for a purpose. The more “if thens” that roll off my tongue, the easier it is to talk to my kids and myself in this way. And, perhaps God is trying to teach something through challenging situations or make part of us stronger. Sometimes it takes creativity to think this way, but it can be incredibly freeing when God is remembered as a loving father who wants the best for everyone and is involved in everything that happens.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
At one point above, I told M that God would stop us before we got hurt. As he gets older I will help refine his theology when I can and when the Holy Spirit leads. Once, M asked why God didn’t stop the scary thunder when he prayed. We helped him realize that God actually did provide for him. God provided us as his parents being there to help him not be scared, the ability to turn on a light, or hug a bear to help not being scared. And I gave M the reminder that storms don’t last forever and they bring rain so plants can grow. In our Bible story, God didn’t stop the people from building the tower that led to them being scattered in the first place. He probably won't immediately make M's storm go away or have it not come at all. He allows things that become challenging for us so that we can learn from them. If we get hurt or scared or scattered, He is still there, gently guiding us back to safety or allowing a way back to Him through circumstances. Look for Him anywhere and everywhere. He’s there!
Big Truths:
We can’t be God
There are consequences for disobeying what God says
God has given everyone in history a chance to come back to him after disobeying or letting pride get in the way. We can always see Him as one with open arms.
Perspective changes to ponder:
What are you trying to do that, really, God should be doing the heavy lifting for?
What, in your life right now, requires waiting for God’s perfect timing?
What conversations, situations or disciplines can you put yourself in to be more in tune with God’s loving presence? How can you do these with your kids?
Activities for kids:
Build a tower with blocks
Make towers with crackers and cream cheese
Make a clay ziggurat
Walk up stairs and say a characteristic of God with every step
Resources:
Lord,
Thank you for loving me enough to not let me destroy myself. May I always turn back to You after disobeying or not being who You meant me to be. Give me wisdom on how to love my kids like You love me. May I always call out to You to reveal Your presence when I don’t feel like I see it.
Amen.