One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6:1-9. This passage rang out more loudly upon the birth of our son, Seth. Teaching the commands, decrees and laws, and the Christian way of life to our son was our responsibility as Christian parents.
From the time our son was born, we would sing hymns, fun “church camp” songs, read books with Biblical stories, and took him to church to assemble ourselves together for worship as a family. However, we did not stop there. As we went along our day, we had those opportunities to teach Biblical life lessons and what God’s word stated. We wanted to make sure that we taught him how to make the right decisions while living out a Christian walk. These were moments that we were given to us as parents. We had the responsibility to instruct him and to make the most out of those times by impressing God’s commands and instructions onto him.
Throughout Seth’s life, we made sure that as we entered and exited our home, he knew we believed in God and why. We took teaching moments before going to school in the morning while eating breakfast. We took opportunities while eating out in restaurants (after the age of learning to stop screaming in restaurants and we could eat peacefully!). Trust me, I had many teaching moments while we ate BK Cini Minis and chocolate milk together!
We took opportunities while he played various sports and all the practices and games we attended. Many, many miles were given to us while in the car together and opportunities to use as teaching moments! He knew that we were believers of Jesus and where our faith came from and why we made various decisions for our family in comparison to those of the world.
As we enter another “empty nester” phase and the everyday realization that we have a 23 year old adult son who is becoming more and more out on his own, I am glad that we made the most out of our instruction time that we had with him. Those were teaching moments that we will not be able to get back. Treasure the instruction times and opportunities that you have with your children and make the most out of them. The time goes by very quickly!
Remember to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, know His word and hide it in your heart, and then remember to impress them on your children.
Encourage One Another,
Bro. Jim