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“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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.” (Dt. 6:6-7)
“Why do you think you and your siblings all love the Lord as adults?”
One child looked thoughtfully and answered, “I think it was the French toast, buttered pecans, and maple syrup!”
This has become a famous saying about our family. It reflected a bit of what is true. For our children to learn to love God, they must see our love for God in ways we sing around the house or enjoy a cool drink on the porch, enjoying summer flowers, watching an exquisite sunset, or "Kiss me goodnight, please," bedtime moments.
God intended that we as adults enjoy our days and have the ability to be satisfied in the days. We weave into them pleasure, fulfillment we were intended to experience as we walk hand in hand with our God. If we see passing on faith as just a duty, our lives will overflow with duty, pressure and we will become discouraged and weary in our own lives. We were not made for God so that we could be slaves of works, but He wants to enjoy and be close to us as a parent would their beloved children. We must perceive the proper vision of His love and commitment to us if we are to pass on a faith that will engage our children.
But the real influence comes all the moments of the ways we live our lives in front of our children. Of course we read scripture together every day and talked about God's love and reality as a way of life. Yet, It is not just about passing on doctrine, but as much about relationship, love, beauty as it is the concepts we teach them.
Discipleship is woven into every moment of family life, when we rise up, when we sit down, whenever we are alone with our children, or gathered together as an entire family.
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