How confident in your child’s relationship with God would you feel if everything they knew about God was from you? This is a sobering question for most parents. So many take them to church or send them to a Christian school, for them to learn about God. They may say the blessing with them before meals or pray with them at night, and this is good, but there’s not much teaching about God in the home. God intended parents to be the primary source of what they believe, and who they believe in. You will know if what you have passed on to them is enough when you see how they teach their children. That’s what Proverbs 17:6 is all about. Are you passing on a godly heritage? If you have grandchildren, do they have a passion for souls and a zeal for the Lord?
Proverbs 17:6 “Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.”
In Deuteronomy 6:7, the charge to teach the children is given to parents. They are to teach them diligently. The Hebrew word for diligently is shaw-nan. It means to point, intensively to pierce (with extreme concentration), figuratively to inculcate, that is to instill, by persistent instruction, all that is in the Bible, to your children.
The next instruction given is to talk. We are to communicate God and His truths to our children when we are sitting, walking, laying down, or rising up. In other words, all the time. Everything about us should point to God. Anything that is contrary to godliness will be noticed by your children. A parent that obeys this command is constantly looking for ways to share their faith.
Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Another verse that instructs us on how to make sure our children have a godly heritage is Proverbs 22:6.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
The first word in this verse is train, it comes from a Hebrew word used to describe the actions of a midwife after the birth of a baby. After the delivery of the child, she would dip her finger in crushed dates and rub the gums of the newborn with her finger. The flavor sensation of the dates would create a desire to nurse. The term train means literally to create a thirst. We are to create a thirst in our children to follow what is right in God’s eyes.
We have been given this command from God to create this desire in our children. A desire that should supersede any desire for the world. Just as the midwife created a desire for food in the baby, we are to create that desire for spiritual food in our children. We need to start when they are born. While we rock them, sing songs about Jesus’ love for them. When we read to them, read the stories of the Bible. Introduce them to the people of God’s word early. Have people in your home who are godly people for your children to emulate. Talk about the missionaries you know and where they are serving. Pray for them with your children and show them pictures of the area where they are serving. When you get the opportunity have missionaries in your home. The pastor never needs to worry about where he will eat Sunday dinner, or where he will take guest speakers. Those in the church should be ready to entertain men of God anytime they can. Training your children includes serving others, especially those of the faith.
The most important job you will do is train your children to follow God. Their eternity depends on what you teach them, and you can never start too early. Psychologists report that 80% of a child’s character is formed by age 6, that’s the preschool years. whoever they are with is the one that forms their character. Have you given that responsibility to someone else? If so, is it because you want more things, more education, more freedom? No one can replace the influence of a godly mom. We live in a world where Christians want it all at the same rate as unbelievers. God wants us to raise up our children the way he outlines in scripture and he will provide as He sees fit. Putting God first in the home gives the glory to God for anything good, and it’s a testimony to the world. So, back to the original question. If all your children knew about God was what they had learned from you, how much would they know?
