I was once told it was "terrible" that I was teaching my young children about hell. The assumption was that such subjects were best addressed at a later age. I replied that from the very beginning we should be teaching our children about heaven and hell and sin and the gospel and Jesus and redemption. If this is the language of the Redeemed, why would we not speak it to our children from the moment of birth, as naturally as anything else we teach them?
Another time, I engaged in a friendly debate with a mother regarding children and the habit of daily Bible reading. She thought it best to let her child read the Bible when the Holy Spirit "moved" the child to do so. The mother also applied this ridiculous theory to memorizing Scripture as well.
Most of us want to be responsible parents. We teach our children to make their beds, to brush their teeth, and so on. And these skills aren't negotiable. We do them because they're good for us. If I told you that I didn't make my children brush their teeth because it might make them hate brushing their teeth, you'd think I was crazy.
And yet, when it comes to encouraging in our children habits of Bible reading and prayer and giving thanks, this is the very excuse we use.
"Well, I don't want my children to not like the Word, so I'm not going to make them read it." Fill in the blank.
We place a higher importance on caring for the body than we do for having the mind of Christ, which only comes by feasting on His Word.
Our children are gifts to us to train up in the fear and admonition of the LORD. Can we do that without teaching them that the Word is their food and they must eat of it regularly to grow spiritually? This is not legalism. This is instructing our children in what really matters for eternity.
What habits are we teaching our children, even unintentionally? To care only for the body? To check text messages first thing in the morning or e-mail or facebook, etc.? To have the latest clothing and haircut? To be carried away by every wind of false doctrine because they have no roots in the the truth of the Word?
Oh that God would give our Mama hearts the desire of this godly woman:
"For as the children of Israel must needs starve, except they gath'red every day in the wilderness and fed of it, so must your souls, except you gather the Spiritual Manna out of the word every day, and feed of it continually; for as they by this Manna comforted their hearts, and strengthened their bodies, and preserved their lives; so by this Heavenly Word of God, you shall comfort your souls, make them strong in Faith, and grow in true godliness, and finally preserve them with great joy, to everlasting life, through faith in Christ.."
~Dorothy Leigh, The Mother's Blessing, 1616
In a later post, I'll share ways to encourage your children to be in the Word daily as well as address the question of what to do if your children are older and are resistant. Always remember that God's grace is inexhaustible!
Let's fervently ask God to give our children hearts that hunger after His Word and delight in it.
With love,
Trisha
Making Your Home an Oasis
3 years ago
Yes!! I can not wait to hear what you have to say. I need help in that direction. Great post.
ReplyDeleteBeth
Trisha, well said!
ReplyDeleteThis is coming from a mom who formerly didn't want to teach her child doctrine as though the Holy Spirit could infuse us with knowledge by some mystical process and bypass our brains. Hard to believe that was me, but this shows how off I was.
I am a pastors daughter and I grew up reading and memorizing Scripture and learning sound doctrine. God redeemed me by His grace years later, at 26,and all those Scripture verses were still hidden in my heart. My parents gave me a firm foundation, and even though I chose to rebel as a teenager, their diligence did not end up being without fruit. The greatest gift my parents ever gave me was a love for Gods Word.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good admonishment! Very good point!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I was once called a bad mom because I wasn't letting my daughter believe in Santa Claus. Love your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this the verse "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it" kept coming to mind. We are called to teach our children the scripture and reading their bible and doing daily devotionals. The younger they start the easier it is too I think.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little we weren't taught much of the scripture about tithing and as a adult it was hard for me living on my own and barely making ends meet to trust that God would take care of me, He would meet my needs (so different than wants) if I did what the scriptures commanded about giving 10% to the Lord. I really believe had that been something I was taught, that was always done, I wouldn't have struggled like that-it would have been truth I knew and believed and would wanted to obey instead of having to learn the hard way.
I always tell my kids that when you are doing the right thing-obeying the word of God-most times you will look very different to the world-strange-even made fun of because we are different-we are in the world but not to be of the world. Some days that isn't easy but it is always the right thing to do.
Love you friend. Thanks for the great post!
Jill
As I've heard it put, you have your own little flock right under your roof. Thank you for reminding us to be faithful. The LORD is ever-faithful and as we are transformed by Him we are to look more and more like him - all by His grace alone.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Jojo
just making my presence known today...as usual, I've been lurking behind google reader app on my phone reading all you have to share. I can't wait to read your suggestions. Right now with a 4 yr old, 2 yr old, and 7 mo old... I mostly read them the Proverb correlating to the date and throw in a bible or character building story. I'm positive...they are mostly not interested. I just pray the Word will take root and nourish anyways.
ReplyDeleteHope your day is blessed!
love, Michelle
AMEN! I grew up in a home that left God at church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and I know the effect of leaving it up to the children, and them never getting to see you crack your Bible at home...they likely will not do it on their own. Praise God He saved me anyway, and I'm so thankful He has shown me a much better way! My little ones have a better understanding of the Bible and know more scripture by heart than I did as a teenager. I pray to pass on a legacy of FEASTING on the Word to them. And I pray hiding the Word in their hearts will indeed be enlightening to their eyes we strive far and away beyond what we were taught to do. And I could bemoan not "knowing" until the last several years, but NO! I get to learn and grow along with them again and I praise God for such mercy! There is a reason God told Israel to teach them diligently. Diligent and passive are opposites and, little mama, I agree with you whole-heartedly. Amen, sister! Amen!
ReplyDeleteTrisha, your post is so timely for me! Our family is currently reading (and enjoying!) the book, Ten P's in a Pod by Arnold Pent, as a read-aloud every evening. Some call it a Christian version of Cheaper by the Dozen but it's basically about the adventures of the traveling evangelist Pent family who had 8 children who grew up not only hearing the Bible read to them from infancy but had a dad who faithfully woke them at 6am each and every morning to spend 30 minutes in the Word if they were aged 10 and under or one hour in the Word if they were 11 or older. This was in addition to family devotions in the Word every day. As a result, each and every child (and the parents!) could recite whole chapters of the Bible from memory. One son could even recite the entire New Testament from memory by the age of 20. And they didn't just have words memorized but had a very deep understanding of the gospel. Understand that this was not because they worked on memorizing scripture. It was simply the result of having extended, consistent time in the Word every day of their lives without fail from infancy. The dad was fond of saying that parents should read the Bible to their infants everyday even though they do no understand yet because it is consistency that brings understanding and memorization. His example was how many moms will say to their babies, "Daddy will be home soon" out of habit every day. A newborn does not understand what mom is saying but if she says that every day, by one year old or younger, that baby will know exactly what that phrase means and will respond accordingly. Having taught my babies sign language, I know this to be true. If I sign "nurse" to my baby every time we nurse from day one, he will understand what that sign means by about 3 or 4 months and begin signing that back to me by 5 or 6 months. But only if I'm consistent. I'm ashamed to say that I've worked harder at teaching them sign language than teaching them God's Word. This book has really convicted me in this area and though we read the Bible together as a family in the morning and evening, we haven't structured a time each day for each child to read on his or her own in addition to that. We've encouraged them to do so but haven't made a time for it every day. And on busy days we sometimes miss our family devotions. We are only half way through this Ten P's in a Pod book but just this morning, my 6yo son informed me that he woke up early on his own to read the book of Job. He then proceeded to tell me facts about Job's life before satan afflicted him and he was very accurate. All from just reading about a family who got up early to read the Bible every day! I love your analogy with teeth brushing, etc. Mr. Pent was fond of telling his children that they should be more concerned with feeding their souls than feeding their bodies because their souls were eternal and their bodies were going to die someday. I'm getting on this right away! Can't wait to hear what else you have to say about this as well.
ReplyDeleteI was once one of those who held such ridiculous theories and probably wouldn't have read your blog. But now, because of God's good grace and love, I want to shout this from the roof tops and tell everyone to read your blog!! Lots of love!
ReplyDeleteI've always been perplexed by friends who felt they shouldn't "force" their children to go to church or Sunday School. They "force" them to take baths or showers, eat healthy food, write thank-you notes to Grandma and such. I agree with you. We teach our children what we value.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with everything you posted here. Our children are grown and we don't have that responsibility anymore but God still gives us opportunities to speak into our grandchildrens live's. We are instructed to train up a child in the way he should go. We simply must teach them
ReplyDeleteYES!!!
ReplyDeleteamen! :D
ReplyDelete