Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Teach them when you sit


These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Deuteronomy 6:6-8

I love the book of Deuteronomy. And no, I don’t have a thing for copious chapters that explain the Mosaic Law. So perhaps what I mean to say is that love the concept behind the book of Deuteronomy. The book is essentially one big study hall. Moses is the teacher and the children of Israel are the students. The wilderness east of the Jordan River is their classroom. And there they sit to review God’s expectation of them before conquering the eminent Promised Land.

It had taken 40 years and two generations to get to this place. All the adults who had experienced the Exodus – except for Joshua and Caleb – were dead. Their children, determined to pass the test that their parents had failed, sat on the verge of an expectant promise to listen, to learn and to choose obedience over disobedience … life over death. Their teacher Moses, ever steadfast and having only a few weeks to live, is exhaustive in his review and admonishment.

It is within this context that he gives the following instruction. I can hear him bellow: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.” And do so not sporadically or solely at religiously appointed times but teach them when you sit. Teach them when you walk. Teach them when you lie down. Teach them when you rise up. In short, Moses challenges the people of God to provide godly instruction for their children as they shared life together within the normalcy of the everyday. It was to be a natural practice. So natural, in fact, that the experiences encountered within the ordinariness of the day inspired easy conversation on the wonders of God and His salvation.

What a lofty challenge! Lofty, for one reason: in order for one to naturally, constantly and sincerely display God before his/her children, God would have to first be naturally, constantly and sincerely cherished in the heart of that person. Simply put, we speak easily about the things we love. As such, the topic of God becomes a natural conversation at any given time or routine when that topic is the very joy of our hearts. The center of Deuteronomy 6:6-8 then is not simply to teach your children but rather to love the LORD with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Interestingly enough, these are the very words that precede the commandment in verse five!

A Christian parent with a desire to raise godly offspring must first have a desire to grow in their own godliness before the LORD. There must be a commitment to sanctification and a delight for the LORD apart from the instruction of one’s children. You must love the LORD with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might – so much so that it overflows to cover your children within the everydayness of life. Your central commitment and prayer then as a parent dedicated to shaping godly offspring is for your own shaping. May the grace of God enable us to live lives of discipleship and faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ – within the routineness of our “everyday.”

7 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed the session I attended on 10/13/12. It was a chance for me & my now 7 month old son, Julien, to be around other Godly women & their children. I feel that we can all learn & grow together. This is a great support group, being new to the church & all. The main point I got from the video we watched was that our babies are looking at everything we do & they will imitate us so we must not only raise them to honor & trust God, but we must show them that we are doing it as well. God Bless.

    -Sheree Louis

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    1. It's a blessing having you and baby J as members of GO Mommies! Love and blessings to you both!

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  2. Well said!!! The suspense in the beginning! love the way you described the book of Deuteronomy. I never thought of it that way and I'm glad that you Blogged. We cannot do this task apart from God enabling us to love Him. When that takes place it won't be a task to teach our kids and IMPRESS these godly truths on them. Praise God! Thank you sis!

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    1. Thanks for the response Sis, it's encouraging. If you haven’t read it already, you might enjoy “The Benefit of Being Clueless” posting. My hope was to bring together parenting and the Gospel.

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  3. the main points that stuck with me during session 2 on 11-10-12 were the following: we are to remain God-centered during our parenting process in order to raising our kids the way God would have us to raise them. furthermore, we are to be good stewards over our babies that God has blessed us with. If we are to be good stewards over money & other material things that God blessed us with, you know we are to be that much more of a good steward over the life He brought into this world for us to care for. Praise God for another successful session.

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  4. Amen Sis Nana!! Thank you for encouraging us to live out what we would hope our children can live out. Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy!!Even though my husband and I are expecting a baby girl in April, we can start recommitting our growth in godliness. How challenging, yet exciting our journey as parents will be. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks for the response Yinka, it's encouraging. If you haven’t read it already, you might enjoy “The Benefit of Being Clueless” posting. My hope was to bring together parenting and the Gospel.

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