Wait! Don’t look away! this is not a shame you into it kind of thing or a beat down about not having enough Bible time with your kids!
To prove it, let me begin with this:
When I announced we were once again going to begin having Bible time in the mornings (following a reading plan to finish the Bible in a year) and that some others we know were following the same schedule, the first question by my middle son was, “What happens when we miss a day?” He asks this because I must admit to never successfully maintaining the schedule all year long with my kids. He knows we will not make it some days.
That being said, we have attempted to emphasize the Bible in our home and encourage its reading. I praise God that He has enabled us to do as much as we have. It is important that we as parents teach Bible at home. This is not just so that they hear the gospel to be saved, although that is a primary reason to which all others point. We need to help them define categories of thought that are not naturally formed. They cannot have a biblical world-view unless we help them form it. If we do not teach them for instance about sin, they will learn from other sources, which means sin for them will be a relative concept to be decided by each individual rather than God’s Word.
I recently had a conversational experience with my children that makes me thank God for His grace in our lives and highlights the need for continuing to keep them in the Bible.
I had dropped my wife at a store while I drove over to get milkshakes. After driving away one of the kids asked why we were leaving mommy. In typical fashion I responded fecitiously that we were just going to get a new mommy. This caused some amount of back and forth between the children and myself. I ensured they understood I was kidding and that would never happen. They made it clear they never wanted that. Then one of them asked why people divorce. After carefully choosing words (and milkshakes) I tried to explain that I don’t fully understand all the reasons but that God didn’t like divorce and mommy and I never will. Before I could finish my thought my 5 yr old asks, “Daddy, doesn’t God bring good things sometimes out of a divorce?”
Here is where I am thankful and amazed that they are thinking in relation to scripture and God!
So now we got to discuss how God redeems bad things. We spoke about Joseph and his brothers in Genesis chapter 50 and then spoke about the crucifixion of Jesus. What a wonderful opportunity to discuss God’s redemption!
To top it off and make it personal they unanimously decided that their Uncle Tommy was definitely a good thing. According to my 5 yr old, “…he’s good acause he tickles us.”
So keep your kids in the Word! Read the Bible with them! Discuss it! Help them form categories of thought that will lead them to the Lord for understanding. Also, ask me through the year about our reading progress… I might could use the reminder myself.
