“Read The Bible To Your Kids”

Thursday, October 27, 2016

A bit of advice for Christian parents (self included): let's read the Bible to our kids and with our kids.

Somewhere along the line, many Christian parents got the idea that the best way to share the word of God with our children was to change it. So we eliminated details, we added artist renderings of the stories which are very often historically inaccurate, we inserted punchlines and jokes all along the way, and we only told them the Bible stories that have happy endings.

Let me be clear: I'm not necessarily opposed to all the things in that list individually. And I'm not necessarily opposed to the use of all children's Bibles.

But as Christian parents who value the words of God himself, let's be sure we are sharing the words of God himself with our children. When God commanded the Israelites to teach their children, he said, "these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 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." (Deut. 6:6-7)  He intended them to share his very words with their children.

Islamic parents understand this as a crucial part of sharing their faith. Their children are taught the Quran from the time they can talk. Most devout parents read passages to them multiple times daily. And as a result, they have one of the highest retention rates of all faiths. In other words, children from devout Muslim households very often grow up to be devout Muslims. And when asked why, they frequently cite a strong attachment to their holy book and the god (Allah) it describes.

We must do the same. If our holy book truly is the words of God (and I believe it is), and if the God in it truly is the author and perfecter of our faith (and I believe he is), then we must share THAT with our children—even when it challenges them, when it seems to bore them, and when they don't seem to appreciate it. Certainly, a simplified version of God's word will be easier and more entertaining for a child. But it won't have the same life-shaping power as the Gospel itself. Let's not neglect to share the God-breated word with them. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb. 4:12)

- Dan Lankford, minister

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