Countdown to 30: Day 29

My parents played a key part in my salvation at a young age. I used to think that I had the most boring testimony ever. Now I see how my testimony is the type of testimony that God actually desires and delights in because it is the result of my parents’ obedience and faithfulness to God’s Word.

As a child, I remember church and Bible stories being important parts of our home. Church was always a priority, and both mom and daddy took us to church. Even when we went out of town, we were in church. Nothing came before church. No activity was more important than church. My parents even made the important decision to keep me and my brother in church for the preaching instead of sending us to children’s church. Because of this, I was exposed to preaching that was gospel centered and based on God’s word. Church was not the only time that I heard God’s word though. My parents were faithful in reading and teaching me and my brother Bible stories all throughout our childhood.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says “Hear, O Israel: 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” It is God’s will for the home to be the place where the things of God are taught, and my parents made sure to obey that command.

I think that too often parents make the mistake of thinking that their children are not old enough to understand the things of God, or that the things of God need to be simplified or watered down, or that the church is supposed to teach their children about God. My parents did not let any of these things deter them from being obedient to God’s command to teach children the things of God. Of course some things are going to be too difficult for children to understand – adults cannot understand. However, children are often better at accepting things because God said so on faith than teenagers or adults, so it is important to teach them to accept concepts such as the Trinity at a young age. God makes it clear that His word is what produces fruit, so there is no need for parents to water down what God’s word says. It may be necessary to make it age appropriate or to explain it in a way that children may better understand, but the ugliness of sin and the commands of God should be communicated. God demands obedience to His word and nothing less. God commands that children be taught what God has done in the past so that children know who God is.

My parents have been faithful to communicate the things of God to the next generation by making God’s word a priority in our home. They also lived the gospel. I understood God’s unconditional love because it was like the love of my parents. I understood God’s faithfulness to His children because of my parents’ faithfulness to our family and each other. I understood God as a father because I had a godly daddy. I was willing to make sacrifices to live for God because I had seen my mom and daddy make sacrifices following God. I am who I am today because I had godly parents who made the gospel a priority in our home, resulting in my salvation at a young age, and, I am convinced, saving our family from a lot of heartbreak that comes from the actions of rebellious children.