“The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And 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…lest you forget the Lord.” Deuteronomy 6: 4-7, 12a
As we enter into a busy season of routine, I want to offer a few encouraging thoughts and challenges as we seek to live for Christ in our daily lives and primarily among our families.
The call of discipling children is a noble and weighty one, and God's intended instrument to carry out this call is none other than the family. From the early church, parents were the front line of discipleship and Godly teaching in their children's lives. This can be a daunting task, which at times may seem more fitting for elders, equipping course teachers, or just more theologically trained people. Nonetheless, I want to encourage you, embrace God's good and holy design, even it feels lacking. God has a way of equipping and preparing his people for tasks they may feel unqualified to perform. Scripture would teach us that it is the Lord's grace amid our weakness and frailties that grants us the power of Christ to live faithful lives. This is why the apostle Paul can say, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Cor 12:9)." All members are discipled and edified through the various frameworks we have established, the Sunday gathered service, equipping courses, Wednesday discipling, and community groups. Ultimately, all these forms will be lacking if parents are not carrying the mantle of discipleship in the home.
My encouragement is this, lean into family discipleship this fall season. Defend against the temptation to allow the plethora of extracurricular activities competing for your family to steal away this precious time. Have a practical, attainable family worship plan in place for the week where your family intentionally takes time to read and pray together. (If you would like a good resource on planning and executing family worship, reply to this email for a free copy of Donald Whitney's Family Worship). As Deuteronomy warns, much is at stake for apathy in this regard. We must be diligent in teaching biblical truth to our children and teenagers, "lest [they] forget the Lord." Everyone is responsible for their reception or rejection of Christ. Still, parents who teach their children about the Lord are a blessing and grace to their souls, preparing their hearts to be regenerated and enlivened by the Gospel!
“Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, wholly influenced and governed by his rules. And family education and order are some of the chief means of grace. If these fail, all other means are likely to prove ineffectual.” -Jonathon Edwards