For some children, who are part of a family where God plays an important role, they already have the advantage of knowing about Him.
For other children, where God is entirely absent from family life, they won't know about Him.
And still for others, whose family members are lukewarm about any type of spiritual presence, the children really don't know whether God exists or doesn't exist.
As adults, we can either do something about this, or ignore it.
The choice is that simple.
I was on a cruise recently on which I had a fabulous time.
On the last day, I was sitting in the lounge thinking about the cruise, and my thoughts turned to three adventure books I had written about children getting to know God.
The books are about three teenagers who fall head-long into exciting adventures.
An ostrich, a tiger and a bald eagle, accompany the children as guardians.
These animals are far from ordinary.
They are angels, who cause mayhem, disbelief and chaos as they stay firmly by Kate, James and Amanda.
What a wonderful analogy, I thought--those children and this cruise.
Let me explain.
Throughout the books, it is suggested, very subtly, how much a young person can benefit from believing in God, who is always there for them although they can never see Him.
Cruise travel has moved on since I was last at sea, but what has not moved on is the reliance and trust we place in the captain of the ship.
Our complete past, present and future is in the hands of the ship's captain.
We believe that everything will be just fine, in spite of the remote possibility of serious problems--especially in bad weather when there is very limited control - even for the captain of the ship.
This trust has developed because there has been little evidence of major sea disasters involving large passenger ships, except in the most extreme circumstances.
This is largely due to incredibly advanced technology.
We therefore board the ship with the confidence and assurance that the journey will go according to plan.
The captain will steer the ship;he will ensure that every need or want of the passengers is met by the crew.
For the captain of the ship, the buck stops with him.
His ship, crew and passengers are his responsibility.
No matter what anyone else is doing, he, or his designate, will be at the helm 24/7.
The position of captain of a ship and the response of the passengers to the rules and regulations in force, is called discipline.
If passengers do not obey the regulations, they could possibly become a hazard to the safety of the ship.
All of this we accept without question when we book a cruise.
During the voyage, we can then be complacent, forgetting about everything but enjoying ourselves.
Given the above scenario why do we, as human beings, have so much trouble trusting in God?We go on a cruise, or board a plane, and we put our implicit trust in the captain of the ship or the plane.
If we are unable, or unwilling, to equate this trust with trust in God, is it fair to deny our children this opportunity?Encourage them to believe in God and that He is there whenever they need Him.
There is no need to go into long explanations about God, or to teach fear of God.
Just assure them that there is a Great Being who is keeping watch over them as they start their lives.
That is enough for now.
When they are older, they can learn more and start making choices.
Why not let them get on the 'cruise ship' and know that a 'captain' is looking after them? They do not need to know His name or what their parents feel about Him, or what anybody else believes.
But they do need to know that when they emerge from the love and protection of their parents- especially during the school years--there is someone else who is there for them and who will keep the ship on course.
For most children, it is too much for them to understand the depths of mature religious belief.
The subjects of beliefs, religion and children cross paths from time to time, but the focus of young people is more on growing up and coping with what lies before them.
While exploring the theories of spirituality and life about them, children will eventually accept or reject what they have encountered.
But, in order to make these decisions, children must be exposed to the facts.
To encourage them initially in a simple belief is key to their eventual choices of the right way to live, The captain, crew and passengers of a ship have to depend on discipline to ensure a good passage.
In Hell's Gate Trilogy, when Kate, James and Amanda realize that Someone is watching over them, they also learn that there is a small thing called discipline needed to realize the benefits of a relationship with God.
In turn this will introduce young people to the discipline required to make progress in their own lives, whether we acknowledge a Greater Being or not.
Too often we don't have this discipline and we do what we want to do--not what we are supposed to do, or what we have been taught to do, or what we have learned to do.
On board ship this would be a recipe for disaster.
How far are we going to progress in a career or in life without the will to get things done and the discipline to do them?Encouraging our children to think about God, will give them a head start.
We must ask ourselves why we would not give a child the knowledge of God, when we are only too willing to give the child everything else? Is it because we are set in our own ways and ideologies in general, and find it hard to be liberal towards our children in the area of religious or spiritual beliefs?Why can't we give them this small confidence of belief? To conclude on an interesting and positive note, according to new research at the University of British Columbia in Canada, if people are made aware of words like God, spirit, divine or prophet, they are inclined to be kinder and more generous.
What more could we ask for our children?