By Ruth Meyer
Believe it or not, our kids are already sharing
their faith, sometimes more boldly than I am. Consider my two-year old, whose
favorite song is “I am Jesus’ Little Lamb.” She sings at the top of her lungs
no matter where we are-- at home, in the car, on a walk, even in the aisles of
the grocery store. And she may not sing all the words correctly, but she
repeats certain phrases over and over. There’s no mistaking that she’s singing
“For my Shepherd gently guides me” after she’s sung it twelve times in a row.
And then she gets frustrated and asks me to sing the next phrase, so right
there in the middle of Meijer I sing back to her, “Knows my needs and well
provides me…” Now, who among us adults would warble hymn verses out loud in the
middle of a grocery store, unprompted? We just don’t do it. Somewhere along the
way we lose that exuberance as we realize that not everyone knows “I am Jesus’
Little Lamb” by heart.
Thankfully, parents, you aren’t in this alone. God, your Heavenly Father, loves your children more than you do. He has already called them to be His own, and they are already sharing their faith as they know how. With His help, your children will grow into faithful and mature Christians who are well equipped to share their faith and pass it on to their kids in turn.
Ruth Meyer is living out her vocation as a Lutheran woman in the roles of sister, daughter, mother, and wife. Her greatest joy in life is living as a redeemed child of God, who has blessed her in her many vocations. Besides her human relationships, Ruth's other interests include music and writing. She is a church musician and has a special love for Lutheran hymnody. She also loves to write, and and her children's book, Our Faith from A to Z ,was recently published through CPH. Ruth keeps her own blog attruthnotes.net. Her hope is that through her writing you are encouraged and perhaps even challenged in your God-given vocations.
Title Image: Detail from the "Virgin of the Rocks" by Leonardo da Vinci
One thing that weighs heavily on my mind as a Christian
parent is the question of how to equip my children for sharing their faith in
this fallen world. My husband and I try very hard to make our home a safe
environment for discussing our faith openly. We have devotions and read the
Bible together. Our kids know a lot of Bible stories, Bible verses, hymn
stanzas, sections of the Catechism, and prayers. But will they be able to share
their faith with others outside the home?
Believe it or not, our kids are already sharing
their faith, sometimes more boldly than I am. Consider my two-year old, whose
favorite song is “I am Jesus’ Little Lamb.” She sings at the top of her lungs
no matter where we are-- at home, in the car, on a walk, even in the aisles of
the grocery store. And she may not sing all the words correctly, but she
repeats certain phrases over and over. There’s no mistaking that she’s singing
“For my Shepherd gently guides me” after she’s sung it twelve times in a row.
And then she gets frustrated and asks me to sing the next phrase, so right
there in the middle of Meijer I sing back to her, “Knows my needs and well
provides me…” Now, who among us adults would warble hymn verses out loud in the
middle of a grocery store, unprompted? We just don’t do it. Somewhere along the
way we lose that exuberance as we realize that not everyone knows “I am Jesus’
Little Lamb” by heart.
What about my eight-year old who was playing with a
neighborhood friend outside one day? His friend made the comment that her
iPhone was more important than the Bible. My eight-year old was appalled and
told her she was an idiot, because the Bible was the most important thing in
life. Now, granted, insulting others is wrong, and calling her an idiot
probably wasn’t the best way to convince her of her folly (although in our
neighborhood, that’s considered a pretty tame term), but at least he has his
priorities straight and isn’t afraid to say so, even at the risk of offending
someone else.
And then there’s my ten-year old who met a new friend at
church. This boy was visiting his aunt and uncle and was apparently not in the
habit of church attendance. He and my son struck up a conversation and by the
time I got over to them to meet the newcomer, my son had already asked this boy
what he believed about evolution and set the record straight on the age of the
earth. Um, wow. Not your typical start to a conversation there, especially for
10-year old boys. But again, he was sharing his faith as he knew how. It’s
so natural to him he considers it a normal conversation topic.
When you look at the examples above, it’s easy to see
that kids are already sharing their faith. So the question really shouldn’t be
“How can I teach my kids to share their faith?” Instead, we should ask,
“How can I equip them to continue sharing their faith?” As they
get older, they will mature, and their way of sharing their faith will change.
It would be odd if my ten-year old repeatedly sang the same phrase from a hymn
in the store the way my two-year old does, yet I hope that he will mature into
a more grown-up version of the same Christian openness. We also need to show
our children how to be specific in voicing their beliefs. So how can we
accomplish this?
First of all, pray. Pray daily that God would keep them
strong in their faith and give them opportunities to talk about their faith to
others. Pray that if they have questions about their beliefs they would seek
out the counsel of faithful Christians, rather than falling for the lies of a
secular professor or a non-believing friend somewhere down the road.
Next, fill your home with Bible talk, prayer, and
devotions as much as you possibly can. The world isn’t going to teach
them the right things. It’s up to faithful Christian parents to see that
their children are taught the faith. Read Bible stories; memorize Bible verses
and the Catechism; sing hymns together as a family; and attend church and
Sunday school on a regular basis. See that they know the Creed, because really,
that’s a confession of faith right there. If anyone asks them what they
believe as a Christian, the Creed is a ready-made answer, stating our belief in
the one true God and the work of each Person of the Trinity. It’s an
invaluable tool. Kids learn by mimicking you. They’re programmed that way. Just
as they learned to count by hearing and copying you, so you have to give them
the words with which to share their faith. The Creed is the perfect tool for
doing just that.
Also give your kids opportunities to practice sharing
their faith in their own words. Practice makes perfect, after all, so give them
lots of practice. Ask them questions about Bible stories before and after you
read them at home. “Okay, I know you’ve heard the story of Creation before. Can
you tell me what God made on the first day? What about the second day?”
If they don’t know the answers, no big deal. Let them hear the
story again and then ask them the same questions. It reminds them that even if
they’ve heard it before, they don’t necessarily know it all. They can still
benefit from hearing it again.
Another way to get kids to practice is by asking them to
tell a Bible lesson in their own words. This past summer, my kids and I
did a Bible time with the day campers at our church, as well as a Bible lesson
with some kids at a local homeless shelter. I usually read or told the stories,
and it was good for my kids to see me as an adult sharing my faith. But by the
end of the summer, I had my kids tell the stories themselves. We practiced
beforehand so I knew they knew what they were saying, and I would always
summarize and review it afterward, but it gave my kids a chance to tell the
familiar lessons in their own words outside the safety of our home. Look for
ways to do the same with your own kids, even if it’s calling a grandparent to
tell them their latest Sunday school lesson.
Finally, as your kids get older, get tough with them.
Teach them apologetics and show them how to defend their faith. Let them ask
questions, even if you don’t know all the answers. At some point, they won’t be
under your roof anymore, and then they’ll be vulnerable to attack from the
world. So it only makes sense to equip them for that well before they leave the
house. I already ask my kids pointed questions: “Is it really fair that
you can only go to heaven if you believe in Jesus? What if you’re a really nice
person who does a lot of good work and gives a lot of money to poor people?
Would God really send someone nice like that to Hell just because he doesn’t
believe in Jesus?” Make them think it through, and help them out if they
aren’t sure what to say. “There are a lot of brilliant scientists who believe
the world appeared by chance and humans were formed through natural evolution.
Aren’t we just naïve to think God spoke the universe into existence?” They’ll
eventually meet people who will grill them with these same questions anyhow, so
make sure they’re equipped to answer such things. If they have questions of
their own, address them honestly. Don’t just gloss over their questions by
saying, “Don’t question the Bible! Just believe it!” While that may have
some truth to it, that’s not going to help them if they’re really struggling
with something. Find a faithful pastor to assist you if you aren’t sure how to
answer their questions on your own (that models how to ask for help, too, which
is a habit they will need someday).
Thankfully, parents, you aren’t in this alone. God, your Heavenly Father, loves your children more than you do. He has already called them to be His own, and they are already sharing their faith as they know how. With His help, your children will grow into faithful and mature Christians who are well equipped to share their faith and pass it on to their kids in turn.
***
Ruth Meyer is living out her vocation as a Lutheran woman in the roles of sister, daughter, mother, and wife. Her greatest joy in life is living as a redeemed child of God, who has blessed her in her many vocations. Besides her human relationships, Ruth's other interests include music and writing. She is a church musician and has a special love for Lutheran hymnody. She also loves to write, and and her children's book, Our Faith from A to Z ,was recently published through CPH. Ruth keeps her own blog attruthnotes.net. Her hope is that through her writing you are encouraged and perhaps even challenged in your God-given vocations.
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