Tale as old as time. I think this is every Christian parents worst nightmare. The thought that our children will stray from the Lord. The thought that they may be at risk of their salvation. As a child my parents raised us in the ways of the Lord and I am here to testify that even though I became that prodigal daughter from age 19-26, I came back home. The thought of not experiencing God’s presence in my Life and His blessings were unbearable. But what was different? I began to think to myself how did I get lost and how did I find my way back to Jesus. I began to analyze my life and I found some insight. As early as I could remember I could feel God. I could sense His presence through praise & worship, a beautiful song, and or looking at the night sky with the thousands of stars shinning bright. My parents and relatives read the Bible, taught me the Word through chats and through church sermons. I never questioned God’s existence. I questioned if it was the only way. I also realized looking back that even though I could identify when I sinned, I couldn’t tell you God’s commandments. Basically, I didn’t have the 10 commandments and those spoken in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 written in my heart and mind. I couldn’t give you examples of each. Though these must of been taught, why did I not know them? Why were they not the basic foundation of my faith next to grace and the free gift of salvation?
Since diving into the Word, I’ve had many revelations as the scriptures come to life. I can honestly say, that the Bible is the best book ever. From creation, to war, to romance, to idol & worship of gods to forbidden acts such as human sacrifice. The bible explains the life of our ancient ancestors. It talks about their struggle, their sins and redemption.
But I began to search for the answer to every parents worst nightmare. How can I reach my children so they may love the Lord & walk in His ways? I found these in scripture: Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. Then in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart, you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your way and when you lie down and when you rise up”. Deuteronomy 11:19 “you shall teach them to your your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up”. You see God had commanded the people of Israel to teach their children so that they wouldn’t forget God. Well, how do you forget God? The bible says In Deuteronomy 8:11 that we forget God by not keeping His commandments. “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments…”
Interesting enough this is exactly what happened. As I read about the Judges, Kings, and Prophets, I observed that there were so many Evil children of kings, judges, and prophets. What happened? A great judge would be established and his son was evil. A great King would be established and then his son would be Evil. Great prophets and then their sons were Evil. The bible states over and over how these children who became Judges, Kings did Evil in the sight of the Lord. They had forgotten God’s commandments and did horrific things before the Lord. I saw a pattern because as observed with King David as he was a friend of God, a man after God’s heart but what happened to his son? King Solomon started out great and was gifted with wisdom; however how did he end his days? His lust for women and their customs as he built temples for their gods. You continue to read in Kings and the same story repeats itself, a good King would arise (and they weren’t many) and their children would do Evil. What happened? the Bible doesn’t go into detail of what was taught but God had given a command to teach our children. If not us, then who? Is it the responsibility of the church? no. Is it the responsibility of private Christian schools? no. God commanded us to teach our children.
And thus this is what I began to do. Each night during our nighttime prayers, I began to teach my children to memorize & recite in order the 10 commandments as written in Exodus 20.
They learned it so quickly, that it became a competition of who knew them the best.
My eldest hears them & doesn’t want to participate in our memorization activity; however, he hears it & it is taught. We can’t force our children but if they are young enough to be instructed then do so. I pray with them each night and as we start the day in the car. I teach them by example to love God not just words, to read the Word together as much as possible and to PRAY. It’s a beautiful thing to hear your words in their prayers. I pray without ceasing for God to give our children a new heart. A heart that fears the Lord & keeps the commandments. We can not live our children’s lives for them. We can’t protect them from making the same mistakes we made but we can Teach them and we can claim them under the hedge of protection as long as we walk righteously before God. I can not see the future. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I will do my best to teach my children and claim what Joshua claimed in Joshua 24:15 “..as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
This is a great piece written by a woman who has experienced a process. The blog challenges me to be more intentional in teaching The Word to my children instead of waiting for others to it. The most important lessons come from my daily life and how I handle it but we cannot ignore the paramount importance of TEACHING our offspring what was taught to us. This ministry is a blessing to all who participate. Thanks KP