And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. – Deuteronomy 6:6-7
As Moses gave the Israelites some final instructions before they prepared to enter into the promised land, he reminded them about all that God had commanded them. He reminded them about all of the things that set them apart from the people that surrounded them. He reminded them about their worldview.
In the same way today, those of us that follow Christ are set apart from the people that surround us. We have a clear moral guideline in the Word of God. We have a different worldview – a Biblical worldview – that we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to following. We need to pass this on to future generations. We need to remind our children whenever the opportunity presents itself of what the Bible says about the situations they are confronted with. We need to remind them that the only source of truth is the Word of God.
When I read this passage of Scripture in Deuteronomy this morning, I got a little chuckle when I got to the part about sharing with your children “when you are on the road”. If you’re a parent, I bet you can relate. Some of the most meaningful conversations I have had with my kids have been “car chats”. After all, they are stuck in a small metal box with you all by themselves with nowhere to go. It is in the car that they’ve asked some of the most thought provoking questions, and I’ve had the opportunity on countless times to share with them what the answer is based on the Bible! I’ve been able to share how even though the answer society is giving them is very different, as a Christian they have to remember that the only correct answer is the Biblical one. I’ve also been able to impress upon them the fact that if they choose a different way, they may not like the consequences.
I pray that God continues to give me these opportunities with my children, wherever we may be. I pray that I will always seize the moments even if they are at inconvenient times. And I pray that with the power of the Spirit I will always have the words to say that point them to the Bible, the one and only source of truth!
For it is not you who will be speaking – it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. – Matthew 10:20
It’s so true that everything we do is different because we’re Christ’s. We’re Christian employees, Christian friends, Christian consumers, Christian spouses. And that gives us a different set of standards. But it also gives us a different set of resources and potential. Asking advice from another Christian who I trust is so much better than asking a person in the world. Thanks!
Amen! It is so important to be able to have other believers to help us stay grounded in the Word of God!