A
Mom's Perspective on Equipping the Next Generation
Recently, I was struck by
how easily my kids are influenced. We
were sitting at the breakfast table, and one of my sons started talking about
“inner peace.” Initially, as embarrassing as this is to admit, I kind of smugly patted
myself on the back for doing a good job of teaching him that peace comes from
Jesus.
But as I delved a little deeper
and started asking him some questions, he started telling me all about the
“inner peace” he learned about while watching Kung Fu Panda. Then he proceeded to get into a weird
meditative pose! It was a lighthearted
moment and we all laughed. But, as funny
as this little scenario was, it also disturbed me a bit. It made me realize how “sponge-like” my kids
are...daily, they are processing and absorbing the influences of our
culture. It made me sit back and ask
myself,
How am I, as a parent, influencing my kids with the
truth of the Gospel?
God has given instructions
to parents to be diligent about teaching His Word to our children. Oftentimes, we leave this job up to our
wonderful and committed Sunday School teachers, Awana, and Youth Group
leaders. But am I equipping my own
children to know and love Jesus, and helping them to understand what He has to
do with their everyday life? I know how
busy life can get, and oftentimes, in our house, this can get pushed to the
back burner.
Over the past few years, I
have come across some great resources for teaching my kids about Jesus, God's
Word, and the Gospel. I know that there
are so many other great tools out there, but these are just a few things we
have used personally and that I feel passionate about!
1.
Bible Storybooks
The
Jesus Storybook Bible,
by Sally
Lloyd-Jones
Several
years ago, I strolled into a bookstore and came across The Jesus Storybook
Bible. I knew nothing about it, but
I bought the book based on the subtitle alone:
“Every Story Whispers His Name.”
I cannot recommend this book more highly! I have learned so much myself, and have been
brought to tears on numerous occasions reading this to my kids. The Gospel is the main thing here: it presents each story from Scripture as part
of God's great redemption plan and teaches us how each story points directly to
Jesus, as opposed to presenting the Bible as a book of rules and moralistic
heroes. The illustrations are beautiful
and unique, and we recently started listening to the audio version, which is
absolutely phenomenal.
2. Devotionals
Long Story Short,
by Marty Machowski
This is a wonderful devotional
for the family that, once again, keeps Jesus at the center. The focus is on the Old Testament, but always
with an eye on the Gospel. The author
does a great job of teaching children that the whole Old Testament points to
Christ and His plan of salvation through grace.
This devotional has influenced our family tremendously. My husband now has a game he plays with our
kids, to see who can make the “Jesus connection” first. Of course, this sometimes ends in a fight as
our children are highly competitive...which is always awesome when you are
doing family devotions. But the point
is, it has given us all a deeper understanding of the fact that the whole Bible
is about Jesus, and it has been so cool to see our kids learning that from such
a young age. Quite honestly, I didn't
understand that until I was an adult. I
loved this quote from the book description on Amazon: “Clever stories and good moral lessons may
entertain and even help children, but the gospel will transform children.” And adults too!
3. Music
Seeds Family Worship
Basically, these albums
are word for word Scripture set to really cool music. I have been known to rock out to these albums
in my car...by myself. Did I mention
that even when there are no kids in my car, I still listen to them? We absolutely love these albums and have
learned so many Bible verses together as a family singing these songs. Putting words to music is such a great and
fun way to memorize Bible verses, and there is nothing cheesy or hokey about
this music. You can learn more about
Seeds Family Worship at www.seedsmusicstore.com.
4. Conversation and Real-Life
Situations
Teaching our kids about
God and His Word doesn't have to be a formal thing. Regular, every-day conversations, and the way
I live my life in front of them, has a profound effect on my kids. It shows them what I am really all
about. Kids are hypocrisy detectives...when
the rubber meets the road, are the things I am teaching them, and the way I am
actually living, jiving together? Here
are some thoughts:
- What am I communicating to my kids about God
when I'm disappointed? Am I
teaching them that God is disappointed in them because they don't measure
up? Or am I teaching them that
there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? Instead of teaching them to strive for
approval, am I teaching them to rest in that truth? (Matthew 11:28-30)
- What am I communicating to my kids about God
when things are going well? Am I
teaching them that I, or they, don't need God? Who is being glorified? God, or myself? (1 Chronicles 16:8-9)
- What am I communicating when things go
wrong? Am I living in such a way
that shows them that we need to take matters into our own hands, or trust
Him because we know He is in control?
Am I teaching them to blame God when things go wrong, or am I
teaching them that our world is broken as a result of sin, that God is in
the process of reconciling all things to Himself, and that one day
everything will be as it should be?
(Colossians 1:20)
- What am I communicating to my kids about God
when we have succeeded, or when we have failed? Am I teaching them that God accepts or
rejects them based upon their performance?
Or that Jesus is a friend of sinners, and that He died for us when
we were dead in our trespasses and sins?
(Romans 5:8)
- Paul Tripp exhorts parents to be an
“instrument of seeing” in the lives of our children. Am I giving my kids a BIG view of who
God is? Is God even in the
picture? Or is He only meant for
formal times of devotions, or bedtime, or Sunday? What I mean is, am I linking the ups and
down of life, the good, the bad, the successes, the failures, and all of
creation, to the Gospel?
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands. Day
after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display
knowledge.” Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens are declaring
the glory of God, but am I? Am I
teaching them that God hates sin, but loves sinners with a “Never Stopping,
Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.” (From The Jesus Storybook Bible). That the law teaches us how life works best,
but also is our tutor to lead us to Christ?
I think, for me, the bottom line is that I need to be convinced of these
things, and living them out in my own life, before I can ever give them to my
kids. Honestly, God is convicting me as
I write these words. So often I fail to
represent God as He should be represented.
It's all about LOVE:
Grasping the reality of God's love will provide
every answer to every question we have about him and ourselves. It will tell us who we are, why we're here,
and how we're supposed to do what we're supposed to be doing. Delighting in God's love will transform
everything about us, including who we are, or our identity.
Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me
“The love of Christ compels us.” And it
is that same love that will compel our children to walk with Him.
The Big Picture Story Bible,
by David R. Helm
The Gospel Story Bible, by
Marty Machowski
Leading Little Ones to
God, by Marian M. Schoolland
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Susan Runnion is a wife and mother of 5, residing in northwestern New Jersey.
She loves cooking, baking, and spontaneous dance parties with her kids.
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The hand of God is at the helm. He’s steering us through the storms of
life toward home, toward a safe haven. And He takes care to order all the
events of our lives right now to speed us on our way there. This is what we
call Providence--
God’s overruling hand at work everywhere in a fallen world. The Providence
of God is clearly taught from one end of the Bible to the other. And our confidence
in the Providence
of God is a faith so bold, so demanding, so unapologetic, that we cannot
believe it without being transformed. Either all things work together for our
good, or nothing makes sense. So let’s be bold about it. Let’s either be
transformed Christians or bitter skeptics, because we cannot just sort of
believe Romans 8:28. We either believe it or we
doubt it. There is no middle ground. (Romans 8:28).
