When adults think of God’s love for us, we immediately think about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. For young children though, those concepts are very abstract. It’s important they hear them even though they can’t quite understand it fully. When you want young children to understand God’s love for them however, you want to also use some very concrete things. Things they can see, touch, smell.
One of the best ways to explain to a young child about God’s love is to help them experience the great variety in God’s creation. Tell them the story of creation found in the first part of Genesis. Explain God could have created anything he wanted to create. He could have decided one kind of fish or tree or flower was enough for us.
God loved us so much though, He wanted us to be surrounded by beauty and all sorts of different things. Explain the Bible even teaches us God’s creation was made to remind us of God. (Romans 1:20) It also teaches us some things about God (Psalms 104:24-25, Job 37:14-16, Job 12:7-10). One of those things I believe it teaches us is how much God loves us.
Give your kids a camera or a phone that takes pictures. (If they are very young, you may prefer paper and markers.) Tell them you are sending them on a treasure hunt. Have them find things God created that remind them how much God loves them.
For some kids, it may be that God created pink things because pink is their favorite color. Other children may be drawn to the diversity in creation. They are reminded of God’s love because he created four kinds of mushrooms they can find in their own back yard. Some kids will be attracted to the “weird” things of creation. They see God’s love in his sense of whimsy and that he created things to spark their curiosity.
There really are no wrong answers. You just want to get your kids in the habit of looking for God and finding Him. You want them to find things like the rainbow that will remind them of God when they see them. You want them to realize their favorite things were created by God because He loves them.
So take your kids outside and have some family devotional fun. You may be reminded of how much God loves you too in the process.