Imparting Our BELIEF to Our Children

 

The definition of impart is to give; bestow; communicate: to impart knowledge. The charge to impart our faith was given to Israel in Deuteronomy 6 and subsequently to all who follow Jesus Christ. The best way to impart our faith is easily remembered by the acrostic BELIEF:

Be Diligent — talk about God morning, noon, and night. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is clear that we are to speak of God and His attributes throughout the day. It is just as though we have been given a prescription from a doctor. In this case, the Great Physician prescribes us to, “Talk about Me to your children at least three times daily.” This is done in various venues and with a variety of methods. Some examples would include:

a.       At the breakfast table — “Wow, look at this egg, Susie. Isn’t it awesome how God creates food for us? God loves us very much.” This reveals that God is:

i.                      Loving

ii.                    Caring

iii.                 A provider

iv.                 Faithful

b.      On the drive to school — “Ben, I know you have a test today and you are pretty stressed about it. I am praying that God will help you remember what you studied and that you will remain calm during the test. Let me know when you get home how you think you performed on the test.” With this form of interaction, Ben knows you care enough to know the happenings of his life and understand his worries. As a result, he knows and trusts the validity of your faith. It also discloses God as:

i.                      Sustainer

ii.                   Sovereign

Note: Following up with the desire to know how the test went, will enable you to expose how God will be there for your child. If the test went poorly, indicate your support in his study habits, indicating it’s not all on God when we fail. This reveals:

i.                     Accountability

ii.                    Support

 

c.       At dinner or bedtime, encourage talking about the day and using those conversations to reveal the attributes of God. Was God:

i.                      Faithful?

ii.                    Loving?

iii.                  Healing?

Note: When the child speaks about the day or event make sure to point out how God has or can be there for him/her.

Engage the Scriptures — Quote Scriptures during the above interactions or at other times. This reveals our reliance on the Scriptures for our life’s guidance. It also reveals that we really do believe what the Bible says.

Learn the Word — Read the Bible in front of our children. This can be accomplished in personal quiet time with God, or reading the Bible to our kids. Reading an age-appropriate Bible or stories from the Bible is crucial, so be aware of the various age range of Bibles available. Most of us can purchase one that is appropriate for each individual reading level in our home. If one cannot purchase age-appropriate Bibles, then reading and interpreting “big” words or helping with comprehension could be accomplished.

Introspective Prayer — Talk to God with our child, or talk with God in front of them, openly voicing our own prayer to Jesus. This reveals God as a person we can relate to. It also speaks volumes to the child that, “God is not a far-off being that is available only when needed.”

Engage in Church — Go to church where the children are taught the Bible and encouraged to act on their faith.

·       Going to church is more helpful when done consistently or it will come off as an occasional activity and not a consistent lifestyle. Our faith becomes lifestyle first in a community with other believers.

Faithfully Share — Sharing our faith validates to our children that we really believe what we say we believe. James says, “Show me your faith and I will show you my deeds.” Kids are concrete intellectuals and kinetic learners. They learn from hands-on play and by performance. Some ideas to share our faith are:

a.                     Volunteer in a soup kitchen, clothes closet, or local mission. This could be once a year, once a month, or once a week.

b.                   Volunteer in church. Teach a children’s Sunday School class or lead as a greeter. Actually, any form of service in the church validates your belief that you really do trust in Jesus.

c.                 Be sure to intertwine God into our discussions like the above mentioned with other adults and families that we meet in the presence of our children. This will help our children understand that others can trust in Jesus as well, and causes them to understand that others may not have the same hope that our family has in life.

We can implement our BELIEF system with our children! It will become easier each day and before we realize it, the Christian lifestyle will be achieved by our kids as well as with us! God is faithful to remind us of this BELIEF system if we truly desire to impart our beliefs to our kids. Only God can call people to Himself by His Spirit, but He does require us to participate in everyway we can to ensure our kids know and honor Him.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my contemplations.

 Blessings,
©Darla J. Smith
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