I am a fairly young father. I turned 25 today. I think. Confirmed by Amanda. Along with getting cheaper insurance, I am very thankful today. I am thankful to my God who has redeemed the wicked man that I am through Jesus Christ our Lord. And I am thankful for my family that He has blessed me with. Amanda, Jack and Evie. Despite my sin, God has truly blessed me and shown me what it means to be blessed through my family. He has changed my heart and turned it toward my wife and children and I pray that I have their hearts in return.
Just a couple of nights ago, Jack and I were reading Genesis chapter 2. Everything was just fine until I had to go and expound the last verses of the chapter.
24Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Don't worry, I didn't expound it that much. I did tell him, though, that one day, God willing, he will get married and go and live with his wife and have children in a home of their own. There, he would be responsible for leading his own family unto the Lord.
But this particular piece of expository preaching struck a cord in my three and a half year old son. Suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes like I haven't seen since he was quite a bit younger. He was truly sad about this idea. He did not want to leave his daddy and mommy. He wrapped around me and hugged me and cried. I said, "That's it. Have a good cry. Let it all out... Alright, that's enough." Just kidding. That's a little Dumb and Dumber humor.
I tried to explain to him that he just didn't understand right now and that it's okay. Some people might not think that this would be an appropriate thing to be telling three year olds. That they are just not ready for things like that and they just need to be kids. But I don't think that this kind of mindset is found in Scripture. We are to "train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it" Proverbs 22:6. And this includes training little boys to become men, husbands and fathers and little girls to be feminine wives and mothers. Kids can understand things if you teach it to them. They are not dumb, they only imitate their parents. They can handle all of God's Word, if we give it to them with wisdom and discipline.
But what do we do when, as we read through all the Bible, we get to passages like 2 Kings 6 where we read about mothers cooking and eating their own babies? Should we disobey God and skip to the verses we like? Or should we use it as an opportunity to teach them about man's wickedness and depravity and about God's judgment and hatred of sin? I think it is the latter. God will bless the faithful. And honestly, a lot of times things like these go right over the heads of little children. But you need be prepared if they don't, fathers.
Discipling our children in God's word is the most important aspect of being a parent. They are not ours. They are His. Have we ever thought about it like that? I know I haven't until recently. We are just stewards of God for their bodies and minds and souls. And He commands us to teach them His commands. Please read what God has said in Deuteronomy 6:
4"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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.
This passage tells us to teach our children God's commands diligently. It gives us four different times to do it. While, sitting, walking, lying down and getting up. You could get it all done in about fifteen minutes if you make a workout routine out of it. That's a joke.
Does that mean we have to actually make our children be still and listen to the Bible four times a day? I would say not necessarily, but maybe. Maybe we need to do it six times a day. This isn't a legalistic command from the Lord, but make no mistake, it is a command. Let's not be antinomians here. Antinomians are people who quote Romans six and say, "we are not under law, but under grace" and use it as an excuse not obey God. If we do that and fail to teach our children God's word, which includes His old testament law, we will literally be throwing our babies out with the bath water and into the world.
So, how many times should you read the Bible to your children? I don't know. It depends on your family and situation. Dads, if you're like me and like to do things immediately right when you're convicted about it, you should take it slow. Otherwise, you will be in for heartache and frustration. You need to talk to your wife and let her know what you want and get on the same page. And as far as your children go, are they used to sitting and listening for long periods of time? Did they grow up being read to? If not, it will take some time. Start with a few verses and spend some time explaining it. Ask them some questions about it. Keep it short. And then, slowly build your way up.
In my home, at this present time, we do it three times a day, with a chapter each time. We don't always get all of them in everyday, but that's the goal. We also have a little children's Bible that we started Jack on that he still likes to read. And we go through a catechism book every night too. It may sound like a lot, but it's not. Jack loves it. And if we forget or are too tired, he keeps us accountable. This didn't happen overnight. It took a good while to be able to achieve this because of bad habits I cultivated in myself and passed on to my son early in his life.
I am going to end this blog here because it is already long enough for the average attention span (at least mine). But I am going to follow this up with another post about my struggles and some tips I have found helpful so that I can be faithful in bringing my family up in the Lord.
For His Glory
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