There once was a little boy who heard his mother and grandmother quote the Bible to him. They “went to church” regularly and the little boy heard the Bible read in the assembly. When the little boy rose up in the morning, when he lay down at night, and when he went about his daily routine, his mother and grandmother found ways to communicate the precepts of the Bible to him.
There was another little boy who never saw his mother study the Bible. He occasionally saw his father do so, but only when he prepared for a Bible class. There was no daily talking about God or the church. There were no prayers offered, except for the occasional prayer at mealtimes. There was consistent church attendance on Sunday, but Wednesday nights were spent at home.
What do you think was the spiritual outcome of both boy’s lives? The Scripture tells us about the first boy. His name was Timothy. Paul flatly states that Timothy’s strong faith was strong because “the genuine faith that is in you… dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice” (2 Tim. 1:5). The word of God lived and breathed in the lives of his mother and grandmother and through them, came to dwell vibrantly in Timothy’s heart. How do we know Lois and Eunice did the things mentioned in the first paragraph? Because Paul said they did. He wrote, “…and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures…” (2 Tim. 3:15). But that passage doesn’t say anything about how they did it. True, but the Old Testament which Lois and Eunice heard read in the synagogue did – “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deut. 6:6-7). No parents or grandparents can successfully implant the word of God in the hearts of their children without consistently following God’s pattern in Deuteronomy 6:6-9.
Kentuckians (where I live) are crazy about the game with the round, orange ball. They have much to learn about the game with the brown, oblong ball, but they certainly know how to play the game with the round, orange ball. Their babies wear the latest UK or U of L bona fide, signed by Rick Pitino or Denny Crum sweatshirts and ballcaps. Babies who can’t even say “Da-da” or “Ma-ma” have already been inculcated as to their life-long sports allegiance. And without variance, they follow their parents lead when they are old enough to decide for themselves.
Is it any different with religion? In 2 Kings 17:34ff, we are told of the Assyrian deportation of Israel and resettlement of Samaria with Gentiles from other conquered lands. The people practiced syncretism, a melding of the ways of Jehovah and their pagan gods. The text twice states, “They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods…” (vv. 33, 41). They followed God and mammon; the Lord and idols; Jehovah and the world at the same time. How many just like them have used all the right religious motions, but whose hearts have never drawn near to God! Even more lamentable is what the text says about their children and grandchildren: “also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day” (v. 41). It is sobering to think that we pass on to countless generations a deep, abiding reverence and obedience to God, or a careless, apathetic, unholy concept of Deity.
How can we aid our children in storing the word of God in their hearts to save them in the day of temptation? Is memorization only for the kids, or do they see their parents store it in their hearts, too? How do we help them solve life’s problems? Do they see us solve our problems by quoting Scripture or poring over its pages for the answers? Do they see parents who hurriedly study brief, fill-in-the-blank lessons late on Saturday night, but never open their Bibles during the week? Have they heard us read to them from its pages with depth of meaning in our voices, with emotion that comes straight from the heart for what God has written? We need to set a time to read the word of God with our children everyday, a time to talk about God’s goodness, to think of things to pray to him about, to explain the Bible’s meaning in terms children relate to. With all our ingenuity, we need to make Bible study something they look forward to instead of a drudgery to be endured. There are no sweeter words than these, “Daddy/mommy, please tell me a Bible story.” They didn’t get to that point without lots of Bible stories being told to them. How can we expect them to be vibrant, growing Christians, if they do not see Bible study being fundamental to our lives as disciples?
How did the other little boy turn out? Thanks be to God he had godly grandparents who started a faithful church in the place where the grandchildren had moved in order to save their family. Who left their home of 42 years in order to do so. Whose Bibles were never far from reach and constantly read, worn and torn with age, but cherished for priceless notes in the margin. Who talked God to grandkids. Who lived godly lives before them. Who weathered church troubles with dignity and love for truth that superseded friendships of long years broken by disobedience to God. Who took the grandkids to gospel meetings 50-100 miles away, who when they journeyed across the United States in their travel-trailer, did so to hear the gospel preached by dear preacher-friends of the family. Thanks be to God for grandmother Lois who implanted in childhood a lifelong love for God’s word.
- The Preceptor, April 1996