Being a parent carry a great responsibility. Our basic tasks are to feed, clothed, shelter, and protect our children. However, I would like to add one more basic task to the list. That is, to tell our children what God has done for us.
It is imperative that children learn how God has worked is our lives, not just in biblical times. We put them in Sunday School, Children Church, and Youth Programs to learn what the Bible says. Yet, we forget to show and share with them our own lives. Having an example to follow is what children are looking for. They should be able to find that in us.
Why Do You Believe in God
Once, I asked my high school daughter, “Why do you believe in God?” Her answer caught me off guard. I was waiting for the normal answers people give, such as “Because the Bible says to,” or “There has to be a god for us to be here.” I was even looking for an answer like, “God spoke to me himself.” The answer I got was, “Because you believe in him.” WOW!
She trusts me so much that she believes merely because I do. On one hand I felt good that my child trusts me enough to believe I was telling her the truth. On the other hand I felt bad because I realized that was not enough for her to survive the attacks of the world. Yes, I read her the Bible as she was growing up. Yes, I took her to Sunday School and Children Church. Yes, I even let her be a part of the Youth Ministry.
I Shared My Testimony
However, I had not really shared with my children why I believe in God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. I had been open about all the bad stuff I’ve done and their results so that my children wouldn’t go down the same path I did. But I had not been totally open about the things I had been praying for or the way God had protected me. Yes, I had told them stories about my life and how God had helped me, but only as a passing statement. Now I realized I needed to get a little more specific.
I needed to help them understand that is was God who helped me throughout my life. In some instances, he used other people to help me, but ultimately it is he who gets the glory from me. I needed to tell them why I believe the way I do, why I study the scriptures the way I do, and how my sins lead me away from God and caused me great inner turmoil and some physical trauma.
By telling them I have become a living testimony and given them reasons why they too should study their Bibles and trust God for themselves. Now I don’t worry so much about them. I continue to tell them what God has done for me and how I use what I have learned from the Bible. They continue to come to me with questions about the Bible, things their friends have said, or things they are confused about. They even tell me things that I don’t know. God is an awesome God and truly deserves all the praise, glory and honor.
Prayer Time
Our Heavenly Father, who is in heaven,
Give us the strength to tell children, whether our own or someone else’s, how good you have been to us. Help us to tell them how you have gotten us out of trouble and how you have comforted us when no one knew what we were going through. Help us to tell them how you have met our needs or the needs of someone we were praying for. Heavenly Father, continue to bless us in your wisdom.
In Yeshua the Messiah’s name, Amen.
Scripture References
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves diligently as long as you live, so that you won’t forget what you saw with our own eyes, so that these things won’t vanish from your hearts. Rather, make them known to your children and grandchildren.” Deuteronomy 4:9 (CJB)
“Listen, my people, to my teaching; turn your ears to the words from my mouth. I will speak to you in parables and explain mysteries from days of old. The things which we have heard and known, and which our fathers told us we will not hide from their descendents; we will tell the generation to come the praises of Adonai (Yahweh) and his strength, the wonders that he has performed.
“He raised up a testimony in Ya’akov (Jacob) and established a Torah (teaching) in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make this known to their children, so that the next generation would know it, the children not yet born, who would themselves arise and tell their own children, who could then put their confidence in God, not forgetting God’s deeds, but obeying his mitzvot (command or commandment). Then they would not be like their ancestors, a stubborn, rebellious generation, a generation with unprepared hearts, with spirits unfaithful to God.” Psalm 78:1-8 (CJB)
