Jan 13
15
Over the last couple of weeks this passage of scripture has encouraged, convicted, and challenged me as a father in so many ways and I thought it is worth sharing.
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV) “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
This passage of scripture has reminded and challenged me with the truth that our children learn the faith within the home. No Sunday school program or curriculum can be good enough to replace the loving instruction and discipline within the home. At Emmaus, we have great teachers and are using strong theological material (Westminster Shorter Catechism) to teach our classes. But as parents, we must realize that Sunday school alone is not sufficient to teach our children the faith. Scripture declares that our children are in need of their parents to teach and pass down the faith that God has given them. It’s a true blessing to see God working through our families, within the home, in training their children in the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6 has also challenged me on the methods of our instruction. While there is time for formal “book work” instruction, these verses encourage our teaching to also be informal. We are to teach our children the truths of scripture and the greatness of God as we are in the car, at the dinner table, doing yard work, homework, sports, in our leisure time, disciplining, etc. I think Moses in Deuteronomy 6 is telling us that our children learn and remember far more effectively when things are taught inside personal relationships and through tangible experiences. Therefore, I’ve been challenged and pray that God would give me the wisdom and insight to use even the mundane things in this life to teach my son the greatness and wonder of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I know I will fail much in this endeavor but I trust that God’s grace is sufficient in all we do!
Fathers and mothers of Emmaus I pray that the Lord will continue to guide and direct you as you raise your children in the Lord!
