Do you expect the church to teach your kids about God?
Yesterday a friend posted words on Facebook that I found true and honest and vulnerable:
“Please don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t expect your church to train your children. That expectation isn’t even Biblical. Don’t breathe a sigh of relief and think your job is done when your child walks an aisle and says the ‘sinner’s prayer.’ The Bible doesn’t teach us to make converts, but to make DISCIPLES. Teach your children the ‘whys’ of our faith. Teach them apologetics. Teach them how to stand up to the lies that will be forced on them. The enemy won’t give up trying to entice your child, so you can’t give up on training them. Did I step on some toes? Good. I wish someone would’ve stepped on mine ‘til I listened….”
Bitsy is right. The Bible ordains PARENTS to be children’s most important teachers. The church comes alongside parents and assists—but parents are the main teachers, both in their words and in their example. Bitsy cited the key verses too:
“You shall teach [these scriptures] to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 11:19.
There are SO MANY similar passages. This PARENT-AS-TEACHER truth is repeated throughout the Bible.
Today I found it in the Psalms:
The “wise sayings” and “mysteries of the past” were “passed down to us” by our fathers—
“We must not hide those truths but tell future generations the praises of the Lord, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed…. He commanded our FATHERS to teach His law to their CHILDREN so that generations not yet born might know. And they must rise and tell their CHILDREN, so they might put confidence in God and not forget His works, but keep His commands” Psalm 78:3-7.
I thank God for parents and grandparents who have taken this task SERIOUSLY.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 