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Faith Topics
Calling Godly Parents
Talk of God’s Commands Consistently and Continuously
“And you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)
As believers, we have a God-given responsibility to communicate with our children about God. We should share significant and relevant Bible stories with them, answer their unceasing questions, use teachable moments to highlight God’s goodness and influence their lives with His astounding holiness. But in order to keep God’s truth from appearing to them as sanctimonious and ceremonial, this kind of intimate sharing should flow from our hearts daily.
Furthermore, we can’t afford to relegate God to one day in the week, like Sunday, or restrict Him to one place, like church. God is everywhere! Our children need to know this, especially as they mature and spend more time in the world and less time in our safekeeping. We can engage in biblical instruction in the living room, while riding in the car, beside a child’s bed, on the front porch and so forth. Ways to talk consistently and continuously about God:
Take the Bible along on a lengthy car ride. Quiz the family on their Bible knowledge, find names, places and events that are different or interesting. Read a story.
Don’t let teachable moments pass you by. Unexpected moments may provide the best opportunities for teaching a lesson about life and God. Teachable moments often arise out of spending time together. They can also be planned. For instance, use local and national news stories to focus family discussion and prayers. Whether local crimes or national disasters loom across the pages of news headlines or the nightly news screen, “real-life events” are an important way to show children the importance of prayer and dependency upon God.
Do you have thoughts, questions, advice on this topic? Post your stories and comments in the forum for other parents to respond to. Enter the forum now.
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