Do you ever felt anxious and ill-equipped when you read Moses’ call in Deuteronomy 6:5–9 to impress God’s commandments on your children?
After all, it can feel like our brains are already bursting with other responsibilities—in addition to having to impress God’s Word on our children.
How are we supposed to do that?
Teaching Our Children in the Midst of Life
The reality is, parenting doesn’t exist apart from daily life. We raise our children in the faith while having a difficult season at work or in our marriage, while battling the flu or money problems, while caring for ageing parents or serving in church, while cleaning the house and making sure the family has enough to eat.
We raise our children in the faith while mediating sibling rivalries, while giving them practical advice about bullies, while dealing with attention-deficit disorders, learning disabilities, and physical and behavioural problems.
We teach our children about God while we live life, with His help . . . which is exactly how God intended it.
We teach our children about God while we live daily life.
After Moses instructed the Israelites to impress God’s commandments on their children, he told them when and where to do it: “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:7–9).
In other words, we teach our children about God while we live daily life.
It’s in the routines of daily living that we impress God’s ways on our children. Whether we’re shuffling them out of the house to catch the bus, shuttling them from school to tuition, or cooking dinner and cleaning the house, God can be impressed on our children during the daily routines of life.
. . . When You Sit at Home
Think about the times when you sit at home with your children.
Mealtimes come to mind—especially when the children are small and not involved in various activities.
How can you engrave God on your children around the dinner table? You can take a moment to pause and give thanks, which is one way of reminding them to honour the one true God.
Establish a predictable pattern of prayer, and give children an opportunity to pray. One of our children always gives a genuine prayer of thanksgiving for our two dogs and cat—and not for his brothers or parents! But that’s fine, because he’s talking to God and learning to give thanks to the one true God.
Establish a predictable pattern of prayer, and give children an opportunity to pray.
Other prayer times won’t be so predictable. Seize the opportunity to pray with your children when the need arises. Maybe your son is worried about an upcoming test or your daughter is having some trouble with a friend. Pray on the spot. You might be in the bus or train, or folding the laundry.
We can also impress God on our children while we’re watching shows and listening to music that have the qualities listed in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
. . . When You Walk Along the Road
Today, this means time on the road, either in the car, bus, or train. How can we engrave God on our children while we navigate the literal highways and byways? Through old-fashioned conversation.
That doesn’t mean we lecture our captive audience for the whole journey; rather, it means making the most of any opportunity for conversation.
You will need to employ different methods to impress God on them, depending on how old your child is.
Sometimes, it seems that children open up while on the way home after a bad soccer training session, a terrible test, or a fight with a friend. Remember: they are going home with a mum or dad who has a solid faith, which will give them confidence. They are loved by you. They are loved by the one true God.
Don’t forget, too, that transporting teens and transporting toddlers is as different as driving a sports car and driving a minivan: you will need to employ different methods to impress God on them, depending on how old your child is.
Toddlers and infants might respond to Bible songs about the walls of Jericho or Father Abraham. They are always up for a loud and lively sing-a-long that is big on hand motions and high on the silly spectrum. Teach them songs about God right away. Toss in a memory verse. Find other creative ways to help your children soak in the good news of God’s love.
Teens, on the other hand, often require a deeper conversation about what had just happened, how they feel, and what they think was right or wrong.
. . . When You Lie Down
Establish a bedtime routine. Consider closing the day with a Bible story and prayer, which you can do with the help of a children’s story Bible.
A father once asked me to suggest a Bible for his toddler, so I gave him one of my favourites. He came to me about a month later and said, “We finished reading that one. What else do you have?”
I had a list, but I encouraged him to keep reading the one he already had. A children’s book of Bible stories is meant to be read over and over and over again—to the point where the pages are taped and children will know the stories by heart and cherish them.
Involve your children in bedtime reading. Ask them to select what story they want each night. Act it out or have them read or fill in certain words and phrases.
. . . When You Get Up
Like most families, our family is pressed for time during the school year. I send my children off in the morning with a quick prayer—we choose one verse for the school year and memorise it. The children recite it most days before they head out the door.
They’re feasting on God’s Word as part of their daily diet.
Both of these take about one minute of our morning, and there are many mornings that we miss it. I’m not jamming toast with a spread of deep theology down their throats. Instead, they’re feasting on God’s Word as part of their daily diet. It’s a manageable bite. They’re starting the day acknowledging that a good and gracious God loves them and watches over them.
It’s All about Being Intentional
We could talk about making a schedule—impressing God on our children at home when we sit together, drive together, and go through our morning and evening routines. But maybe it’s better to talk about being intentional about impressing God on them.
God’s Word should be weaved into the fabric of our lives, and this takes intentionality—as well as daily reliance on the Spirit for wisdom.
Some of this can be planned—maybe prayer and conversation during dinner, or Bible story at night or an early morning send-off Bible verse. Other times will not be planned at all, but since we are intentional about impressing our children with God, we’ll be able to seize the moment and respond to opportunities to talk about God.
Impressing God’s ways on our children should be manageable, not overwhelming. It should flow out of the natural rhythms of a life lived in tune with the Spirit.
