Day 17 - Telling the Children
If you want to assess the strength and spiritual vitality of any church, there’s one place you should go—the Nursery!
Ancient Israel was strongly commanded to teach the statutes and ordinances of God to their children. In the book of Deuteronomy, we read these words, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds…Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.†(Deut. 11:18, 19–NIV) You’ll notice that the teaching was not confined to a classroom setting. Rather, we incorporate God’s Word into every facet of our lives. There is much truth in the cliché that the faith is, “more caught, than taught.†How do our children “catch†the fire of our faith? They learn it by watching us live out our faith on a daily basis. They learn it by hearing the stories we tell. Not just the “parables and the dark sayings of old†(Ps. 78:2) but also the testimonies of what God is doing in our lives—daily!
The nursery worker softly singing “Jesus Loves Me†to the babe in arms is doing far more than providing babysitting services—they’re getting a head-start on discipling the next generation to be great for God!
Is there a young heart in your family that you could be pointing Godward today? Tell them your story because they are listening…and watching.
Today’s Scripture Promise: “We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD. We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did.†(Psalm 78:4—New Living Translation)