I love teaching the Scripture’s truths to our middle school students at the church’s Christian Education program called Awana (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed -2 Timothy 2:15). Last night our team met to prepare for the new year and we were reminded of the core reasons we do what we do every Sunday afternoon with our kids! We work to create a place where children can Belong, Believe, and Become – belong to Christ, believe the Truth, and become His follower.
Moses reminded the people of Israel of the heart of their
faith and of their responsibility in a passage called the Shema- "Hear,
O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4, NIV) "Shema
Y'Israel" There are not many gods, there is One True God and He is
“the Great I AM.” He goes on to tell them that "Love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts."
(Deuteronomy 6:5-6, NIV) The Lord asks our engagement with Him, fully,
every part of our life committed to Him as we carry His Word with us at the
center of our being.
Now, note the next directive which is my focus today. "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:7-9, NIV) Make sure to hand off the faith to the next generation, not casually, but with real intent. How? By incorporating the Lord’s Word and Presence into everyday life – in our thoughts and in our way of life.
It is true that God has no grandchildren! Each generation must be introduced to Him and then, by the Spirit, be born into eternal life. That is not to say that we cannot pass the faith along. It is a sacred obligation to make certain that our children understand the ways of God! Christians frequently quote a proverb which emphasizes the parental responsibility of passing the faith along - "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." (Proverbs 22:6, NIV). It is true! Tragically it often quoted by desperate parents who have watched their children wander from the Way, who are deeply concerned over the spiritual well-being of their children. It is a misapplication of the verse to read it as a kind of magical statement - "if you do this, then this is the inevitable result." In keeping with the pithy wisdom of the Proverbs, it should be read as common sense kind of knowledge.
The Message catches the spirit of the passage - "Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost." (Proverbs 22:6, The Message)
Does your life, do your words, do your attitudes, do your values reflect a deep faith, anchored in Christ Jesus with hope that transcends time? A superficial Sunday faith will die quickly in our child’s life. A hypocritical presentation of Christianity that says one thing and does another will sour a child’s heart. Only a living faith that is as real on Monday as it is in church on Sunday is able to take root in the next generation. Kids have a wonderful hypocrisy detector that can sense the old 'do what I say, not what I do' nonsense at a very early age! Where they see that kind of gap between profession and possession, they will much more likely to conclude that faith in God is unnecessary baggage to be tossed away as soon as practically possible.
Ah, friend, do remember this - You are not the Savior of your child! Jesus is. Only God, the Spirit, can transform a human heart! We present the Truth and, if we are wise, live it well so that they have powerful examples of the desirability of serving the Lord. But, then we must pray for the Spirit to take hold of the heart and mind of our child, so that they will kneel before the Cross and receive the love of God, so finding a soul-transforming experience of the Spirit. There is a folly in the land of the churched that believes that a good youth group or a solid Sunday School can replace parental example! A good community of faith is an important part of the spiritual development of any person - young or old. However, when it comes to passing the faith to the next generation there is no one who can have the influence of a godly Mom and Dad.
As we sat around those tables planning last night, my silent
prayer was “Lord, help us to pass the faith along, with authenticity, with
love, teaching the ways of a loving, living Savior to our little ones.”
Are you passing the faith along, laying the foundation of the knowledge of God,
living a life that invites the next generation to join the community of the
people of God?
One author offers these practical suggestions to us.
-Acknowledge and reinforce spiritual realities!
Do your children know, for example, that Jesus loves everyone?
That God
is personal, loving and will forgive us?
-Teach that God is a personal, caring Being who is to be loved and
respected!
-Make spiritual activities a routine part of life!
-Clarify timeless truth — what’s right and wrong!
-Incorporate spiritual principles into everyday living!
Here is a word from the Word. "I have been reminded of your sincere
faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice
and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan
into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands."
(2 Timothy 1:5-6, NIV)
(Video of this blog at this link)
____________________
Your love has captured me
Your grace has set me free
Your life the air I breathe
Be glorified in me
You set my feet to dancing
You set my heart on fire
In the presence of a thousand kings
You are my one desire
And I stand before You now
With trembling hands lifted high
Be glorified
Be glorified in me
Be glorified in me
Be glorified in me
Be glorified
Chris Tomlin | Jesse Reeves | Louie Giglio
© 1999 Rising Springs Music; Vamos Publishing; worshiptogether.com songs
CCLI License # 810055
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