Reading this morning from Deuteronomy chapter 6, the Lord impressed on me the importance of teaching my children about what really matters:
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 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. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
To talk about the Lord constantly with my children. Not just talk, but also show them in everything I do just how important the Lord is in my life, that I love the Lord with all my heart and will all my soul and with all my strength. It all begins at home. When it comes to teaching a child, I believe that no Sunday school teacher, no matter how good, can take the place of a parent who is truly living the life of a Christian. A very great responsibility, no? But it is also a rich and rewarding blessing to watch the fruits of that effort take root and grow.
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3 comments:
Steve - in your post you touch on something near and dear to my heart.
In small group, I heard a common, and legitimate, complaint about the quality of bible study the kids are receiving (mind you, we are talking pre 5th grade at the max). The complaint is that they are getting the same 10 bible stories each year (WOW 2008: Top 10 Kid's Favorite Bible Stories)
The evil (read - prideful) cynic in me privately questions "where should your children be learning the bible?" And my mind instantly goes to the verse you quoted.
We parents have a far greater responsibility with our own children than are church does.
Thanks for sharing, Steve. My son "made a profession for Christ" this weekend at a WinterJam concert with the youth group, and it's been shaking me up a bit to think about what that would mean, how we would help him grow into that. It's a big deal, isn't it?
While I am not a parent, I believe that nurturing and teaching the child is the most important job anyone can have. I see this when I am around my neice, and I am even more appreciative of my parents now.
I like Steve's post too because it reminds me that while words are important, our actions speak much louder than words.
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