Chuck E. Cheese and a Theology of Parenting, Part II

It happens when you least expect it. Your kids ask you those questions that tax the limits of your knowledge. Sometimes, you get the ones where the answer is clear its just a question of how to communicate the answer “tenderly.”

“Daddy, why is the sky blue?”

“Mommy, where do the waves in the ocean come from?”

“Daddy, when I was born, how did I get in Mommy’s belly?”

Kids ask questions. It is all tied up with growing up in a big world in which they know little about. They are curious about things and they figure with you and them living in the same house, you must possess the answers to their deepest questions. Sometimes the questions are simple and funny. Other times, they are serious and quite heart-felt. Whether serious or not, the questioning demands something clear of parents. Your kids are looking to you for the answers.

Moses told the Israelites, imagine this scenario and please know that it will happen…

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’” (Deuteronomy 6:20)

The leader of the Jewish nation wanted the people to know that as they inhabited the Promised Land and enjoyed all the goodness God had provided something big was going to happen. Their children were going to ask them, “Why do you do what you do? Why do you worship God? Why all these ‘thou shalts” and ‘thou shalt nots?’” The beauty of the circumstance was that Moses was wonderfully preparing the people for the test before it even came. Heck, he even gave them clear and concise words for answering the inevitable question.

“…then you shall say to you son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’” (Deuteronomy 6:21-25)

The implication of Moses’ teaching to these parents is clear—spiritual training is not optional among the people of God. It was a sure thing that sons (and surely, daughters) would want to know of their fathers (and surely, mothers) why bother with worshiping God. In order for “it to go well”, it was essential that the following generations be taught to fear and love God and to diligently practice the law. The way this would occur was in parents passing on the knowledge of God and the law to their children who would then pass it along to their children who would then…you get the picture!

Yet the point is mind boggling. Every parent was to be responsible for the spiritual training of their children. Again, this assumes that each parent was concerned with the things of God. If they were not, then when junior asked the question that would come, then there would be much befuddlement that day and a clear spiritual trajectory would be set.

If spiritual training is going to happen in your home, you must decide how to do it. One, you must determine what are the essentials that your children need to know. Two, you must decide how that information is going to be passed along. I have found this process lacking in many Christian homes during my years of ministry. Even if dad and mom know there is some important biblical information their kids need, they fail to take the time in intentionally planning for the transfer of that information.

Heck, I have struggled with knowing if I am giving adequate spiritual leadership in for my kids.

Let me say clearly, we are not just talking about the mere transfer of data. In essence, we are talking about the soul-care of our children. The things we know about God, Jesus and the Gospel are the things of life and death. They are of great eternal value. We can not hope that our kids will learn by osmosis. Now granted, they are learning what we think of Jesus daily by our visible example. When they see us prepare a meal and deliver it to a family whose mother has been in the hospital, they are learning something essential about God. When our kids see mom and dad have a disagreement (i.e. argument, fight, hum-dinger, etc.) and then treat one another with respect, they are learning essential truth.

Yet in the context of life, they need to know the propositional truth of Christianity through the teaching of God’s Word. They need to learn to read it…sing it…pray it and live it!

Before the day of the Jewish son questioning his dad, Moses said this to Israel…

“…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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gate.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-8)

Dad and mom need to have such a deep heart-felt relationship with God that it expresses itself in the systematic spiritual training of their children. How was this to happen? Look what Moses says…
-teach the law diligently to your kids
-do it while sitting in your house
-teach them walking down the road
-teach them at bedtime
-teach them at the breakfast table
-write the law on your hands for your kids
-put the law before your eyes for your kids
-write the law by the door of your house
-write them on your gate

…in other words, don’t miss an opportunity to saturate and surround your children in the law of the Lord. Create an environment in your home where recognition of God and His law are as regular and recognizable as a box of Cheerios. Do it in the morning. Do it at lunch. Do it at bedtime. Take a walk and do it. Do it. Do it. Do it!

The application for a Christian Dad and Mom is so very clear. We must deeply commit ourselves to creating a Gospel-full and Word-driven training of our children. Our kids are not going to be Christian just because we are. The children born into the covenant of Israel enjoyed a special relationship with God. As Christian parents, we train and teach the Gospel so that our children will know the holiness of God, the seriousness of their sin, the sacrifice of Jesus and the promise of new life. We train and teach so that they will know the truth and one day, by God’s grace, do what Jesus called in Mark 1:15, “…repent and believe in the gospel.” If we enjoy the blessing of seeing our children embrace the Gospel, we then enter the process of helping to establish and equip them in the faith.

It should be the joy of all Christian parents to be deeply involved in spiritually training their children. So you might ask, “How do I do that?” Next post, I’ll talk of practical ways for parents to make that happen.