As the world goes through uncertain times, as parents and elders, we are concerned about our children and their safety. We are also concerned about their future and the things they will have to deal with and be exposed to as they grow up. God loves children so much that He cares for their every need.
God wants us to be involved in preparing our children for their future. He has entrusted them to our care and He wants us to instill good godly values in them and not leave them untrained and untended to so that the world will fill their hearts and minds with ungodly things. In Proverbs 22:6 God says, “Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.“
Sharing our faith with children
In Deuteronomy 6:6-8, God was very particular about His instruction to the people of Israel, “And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]. You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes.” Amp
In Joshua 4:6-7 , God instructed them to make a memorial of stones, “That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, What do these stones mean to you? Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever.”
This is a very important principle we need to follow in our lives even today. We must remember to share how the Lord has helped us personally or our family to get through the difficult times in our lives. Testifying should become a way of life for us so that our children too learn to thank the Lord for what He has done and to share about His goodness in their lives.
Teach children early
Some believers think that children don’t need to learn about spiritual matters until they grow up. Lisa Schreiber says, “In traditional Jewish education, students by the age 6 would attend synagogue schools. By around 10 years of age, they would have learned and memorized the first 5 books of the Bible, called the Torah (yes, even Leviticus!). Jewish rabbis would instruct students with an assortment of memorization methods.”
Jesus had to learn the Torah as a child and it explains why at the tender age of twelve He could engage in discussions with the teachers about the Word of God. The mind of a child is like an empty page, if we do not teach them good things during the early years while they are in our care, we will find that the world has taught them the opposite of everything we believe in.
God does not take kindly to people who teach children to sin. In Matthew 18:6-7 Jesus said, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in and acknowledge and cleave to Me to stumble and sin [that is, who entices him or hinders him in right conduct or thought], it would be better (more expedient and profitable or advantageous) for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be sunk in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for such temptations to sin and influences to do wrong! It is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the person on whose account or by whom the temptation comes!” Amp
Jesus said, ‘Bring the children to Me’
When Jesus was ministering to the needs of people the people, “kept bringing young children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples were reproving them [for it]. But when Jesus saw [it], He was indignant and pained and said to them, Allow the children to come to Me—do not forbid or prevent or hinder them—for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:13-14 Amp
God has promised us that He Himself will teach our children. Isaiah 54:13 says, “And all your [spiritual] children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children.” Amp
A promise for our generation
Though times are difficult, we can trust the Lord. He has given our generation a promise in Luke 1:17. He said “And he will [himself] go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is the knowledge and holy love of the will of God]—in order to make ready for the Lord a people [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state].” Amp
Let us put our trust in the Lord and do diligently what the Lord has instructed us to do. Let us teach our children about the Lord and reflect His love to them. In time they will learn about Him and know for themselves the goodness of His neverending love for them.
“How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures.” Psalm 36: 7-8 Amp
Henrietta Decruz
Henrietta is a writer, singer-songwriter, blogger and social worker based in Kerala, India. Having encountered God closely through life's many ups and downs, she has a passion to use her God-given talents for His glory and to see lives transformed across the nations.
