"What is Death, Mommy?"

Well, that is an easy question to answer, isn't it? Death is simply the termination of all biological functions that sustain a living organism, right? Try that on your child when they need compassion and comfort. Have your camera ready, though, because the facial expressions they make will probably be quite memorable.

Seriously, this will probably be one of the toughest questions you will ever be asked by your child, and you need to be prepared with a good answer. Unfortunately, several factors can make this question potentially more difficult to respond to. For one, you may anticipate that your child will not ask you about death until someone known to the family has actually passed away.

Don't kid yourself. Children are walking, talking question marks. They want to know about everything. And they are relentless in their quest for knowledge and understanding. The question about death might be prompted by something as simple as seeing a dead bird in the lawn or from watching a television program about hunting. But one thing we can be certain about: It will come when you least expect it. So, expect it!

Another factor that could aggravate or complicate the question is a generational issue. Today's children are so overexposed to artificial and "play" death on video and online games, movies, and even seemingly harmless cartoons, that their concept of death may be considerably warped.

At the lower end of the age scale, youngsters may view death as something temporary or reversible. All they have to do is hit the RESET button on their game and the hero is back in business. And in cartoons, characters who are squashed by falling rocks or pianos or who are blown up by invading aliens come back next week to do it all again.

Adults know the difference between imaginary and real. That a difference exists, however, doesn't even occur to many younger children. For older children, they may understand the difference, but they are so overexposed to death and carnage in the media or in their video games that it just doesn't hold as much dread or impact for them as it does for us older people.

From whatever the source, children usually are already acquainted with the idea of death before their parents ever begin thinking about discussing it with them. But again, their understanding may be off the mark, and parents need to be proactive in setting the record straight. There is no "official" matrix for how to approach the topic, and in my opinion, there ought not to be. Each child is different. Each parent is different. What works for one may not work for another. I am not offering a cookie-cutter approach, but am merely providing you with information that you can then adapt to your particular situation.

There are many places in the Bible that we could turn to for a definition and explanation of what death means to living things, but one that seems to fit best in this chapter is Job 12:10, which says:

In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

The first ten words of this passage are extremely profound. The initial, face-value perception is that God is speaking about all creatures, human and animal. So there is no doubt, if one were to complete an in-depth study of this passage, the conclusion would yield the same result: that God is, indeed, speaking about all creatures, not just humans.

The word soul is used in over twenty different ways in the Bible. Invariably, when people come across this word in the Scriptures, they automatically associate it with other uses of similar words that speak to redemption. This happens so frequently that in no matter what context it appears, the connection to reconciliation and salvation is usually present in people's minds and unconsciously applied to the interpretation.

In most cases, this is right and acceptable to the rules of exegesis. But there are instances in which it is not. Clearly, the gospel message is not for animals. It is exclusively for people. It is a reconciliatory outreach from God to people.

However, to allow this truth to cause one to draw the conclusion that an animal therefore cannot have a soul is to visit a gross injustice on the Scriptures, in particular this verse, which has nothing to do with spiritual redemption.

The Hebrew word nephesh ("soul") is used in Job 12:10. It appears many times in the Scriptures and is used interchangeably to describe both the essence of man and of animals. It does not make a distinction between the two, and it does not delve into salvation in its application. Rather, it addresses the consciousness of the soul.

This passage in Job is a good example of this. The word soul is not used in relation to redemption, but rather the verse addresses God's providential care. A clearer meaning of this verse would be "in whose hand is the life or essence of every living thing ..." God is speaking of that part of both humans and animals that contains, or houses, the "life" He has given to them, that part that departs the body when the body expires.

When we mesh these thoughts in Job with Romans 8 and Revelation 5:9–13, to name a few corresponding passages, the meaning is clear. The life, or essence, of every living thing is in the eternal care of the One who created that life.

However, this word in Job indicates an even deeper thought for us to consider. We often refer to ourselves as a "flesh-and-blood body with a soul." This is not so. In keeping with the absolute intent of this word nephesh, man is a soul that has been placed in a flesh-and-blood body. The distinction is subtle, but it is huge in effect. We are not bodies with souls. We are souls with bodies.

And not only us, but because the same word is used to describe the essence of animals, it applies to them, as well. Most of us have been taught that animals do not have souls. Technically, that is correct. They do not have souls; they are souls, just like human beings are also souls inside physical bodies.

It is important to have this background knowledge when responding to the questions of...