In my previous post, we considered the promises that God made to his people and how each of those promises found their fulfillment in Christ. God promised his people that he would crush Satan, bless the nations, reign forever, and save his people, all through the gift of offspring. All of these promises, just like every promise of God, “find their yes” in Christ (2 Cor 1:20).

However, God did not expect his people to be passive bystanders as he fulfilled his promises. He called them to faith-motivated action. After promising Abraham that he would make him into a great nation, God asked him to sacrifice his only son (which God stopped and provided a substitute for, by the way). After promising the Israelites that he would rescue them from slavery in Egypt, he asked them to follow him into the wilderness (including walking through the sea!). After promising Israel a land to inherit, he asked them to trust him and take the land even though their enemies were stronger and more numerous.

When God makes promises, he wants us to trust him and act on that trust. When he made promises to Israel regarding offspring and children, he expected his people to trust him and obey him. But what did obedience look like, and what does it look like for us?

The Shema

In Deuteronomy 6:4-5, God gives the nation of Israel her marching orders. If we could summarize all of the Old Testament into one command, that command would be these verses. In fact, when Jesus is asked, “which commandment is the most important of all?” he quotes from these verses (Mark 12:28-31). They read, “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.”

These verses have traditionally been called The Shema, based on the Hebrew word shema, which means “to hear.”  What is Israel to hear? That their Lord is One.[1] There are not multiple gods. There is One God. He is the True God, and is alone is worthy of worship. If fact, he is worthy of our all. We are to love him with all of our heart, soul, and might! He is to be the one supreme object of our affections. That is how we respond in faith to his promises- by putting him first.

But notice the following verses. “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” (Deut 6:6-9).

In essence, this command was to become a part of Israel’s identity. It was to constantly be on their heart. They were to live their lives seeking to love the God who made and saved them from their enemies. He wanted them to remember him and his promises and to place markers of remembrance everywhere (Deut 6:8-9). Their laws, sacrifices, feasts, and festivals all served this purpose: to remind, confirm, and strengthen their relationship with God.

But notice what else God calls them to do with “these words”. “You shall teach them diligently to your children.” How? By talking about God, his promises, and his commandments “when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut 6:7).

In other words, teaching your children diligently means using every opportunity that normal life affords to teach them about God and his ways. When you spend time together at home. When you eat together. When you travel together. When you get ready for bed. When you wake up. Every day, all day, we speak of who God is and what he has done, presenting him as the only one who is worthy of your family’s affection and devotion. That’s discipleship!

Let Your Light Shine

Many parents are overwhelmed at the thought of discipling their kids. They know they should, but they don’t know where to start. The starting point is your own relationship with Jesus. Trust him for salvation. Read his Word. Pray. Gather with his people in corporate worship. Serve as you have opportunity. Practice repentance and forgiveness. Give generously. Share the gospel with others. Pray for people.

Let your kids see you walking with Jesus. “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Children learn just as much (if not more) by your example than by your words. This is especially true in the realm of faith. Why would they believe what you say about God if you don’t live like you really believe it?

One of my professors in seminary used to emphasize the importance of letting your kids see you spend time with God. Many times we wake up early, stay up late, or search for a quiet place to read, pray, or sit before God. We do need those times. Desperately. But we also need to let our kids see us reading the Word or kneeling in prayer.

Sometimes I keep reading the Bible after my kids have woken up so they can see me reading it. They will often come ask what I am doing or what I am reading, and it gives me a regular opportunity to say something like, “I am reading God’s Word!” Why? They might ask. “Because he speaks to us through it. He tells us everything we need to know about him and how to follow his Son, Jesus. I need to read it every day to prepare my heart to live for him.”

Have the same mentality regarding prayer. Let your kids hear you pray. Pray with them throughout the day, especially as needs arise. Pray with them before and after church, before and after school, before and after sporting events, before and after doctor’s appointments. Anytime they are nervous, upset, or in pain, find an opportunity to pray together. It will become their natural response in times of need. One of my greatest joys as a parent is watching my children pray for one another when they need it!

The same goes for corporate worship. Sunday needs to be a day that the entire family looks forward to, prepares for, and enjoys together. We start by getting ready on Saturday night. We set out clothes and pray for the day ahead. We try to remind our children what a blessing it is to be able to go to church, worship God, hear from his Word, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray together for the lost to be saved, for the sick to be healed, for the believers to be edified, and for the gospel to reach the nations.

At church, its good for your kids to see you worship. Even if you drop younger children off, find times throughout the year to bring them into worship with you. Let them see you worship God through song. Our church has several “family worship” Sundays throughout the year that provide these opportunities.

Involving them in giving is also important. Our family primarily uses automatic online giving, where a certain amount comes out every month. But our kids don’t see that. So we talk about it giving our first fruits to God and thank him as a family for the opportunity to give. But we also look for ways throughout the year to give cash so they can physically see us giving to God.

It’s also good for them to see you minister to the body. Better yet, include them in your ministry! When my wife and I planted a new young couples life group class, we took our kids to the classroom to pray over the chairs and the people who would sit in them. We often take meals to other families in our church, and do it as a family. We pray together for people and try to find them on Sundays and let them know we are praying for them. We want our kids to see our family as a team that serves the body of Christ.

All of these disciplines are “as you go” disciplines that capture the heart of Deuteronomy 6 and teach children how to know, worship, and serve God.

What to Teach Them Diligently

Although modeling a what a relationship with God looks like for our children is one of the primary ways we obey the Shema, there are specific things included in the command to “teach them diligently” we must actually teach.

In the context of Israel, they taught children who God was by retelling their people’s stories- creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall, the flood, Abraham and his children, the exodus from Egypt, the manna in the wilderness, just to name a few. 

They also taught children their laws, feasts, and festivals, and included them in observing them. We find Jesus’ family doing this in Luke 2:41-52 when they take (and lose) Jesus on a pilgrimage to the temple. Children weren’t relegated to the sidelines as their parents worshiped God. They were included in the familial and communal rhythms of worship. These experiences strengthened a child’s sense of identity and established them in their own relationship with God.

Even though we aren’t old covenant believers, we must have the same mindset as the Israelites. It is up to us to pass our faith onto our children. The world will not do it for us. In fact, the world will teach our children stories and precepts contrary to what we see in Deuteronomy 6- that there is not one God and that we are not called to love him, but to love ourselves.

So what should we be diligent to teach our children? Here are a few essentials.

The Nature of God

First and foremost, we should teach our children about God and his character. That he is eternal. That he is triune. That he is holy, righteous, just, merciful, gracious, and loving. That he loves us and wants to relate to us. That he is creative and beautiful beyond all imagination. That he is immense and glorious and incomprehensibly good.

We must present a picture of a God so wonderful that a child can’t help but want to hear more. We need to use our imaginations to do this. And we must wonder at God ourselves first! Children can pick up on our excitement. But they can also pick up on our boredom. So become enamored with God and his glory yourself first, and then share that with your kids. Something as simple as marveling over a backyard flower and how it highlights God’s creativity and beauty will do the trick. But make these kinds of things a lifestyle.

We can instill wonder by using language like, “Isn’t God so amazing, that he could create this? Isn’t God so good to us, that he would give us this to enjoy? Isn’t God so faithful, that he provided this? Can you believe God cares about us and helped us with this?”

Bible Stories

Another way we can teach our children about God and his attributes is by telling them Bible stories. How did God reveal himself to Israel and to the world? Through stories. He didn’t give them a list of his attributes. He revealed them through his interactions with his people, and by recording those interactions. He chose to communicate to us through word and stories, and that’s how we should communicate him to our children.

For example, we don’t just say “God is creator.” We tell the story of creation. We don’t just say that God can create anything out of nothing. We tell the story of how in the midst of darkness he said, “let there be light” and then there was light! These stories shed light on who God is by remembering what he’s done. So teach your children biblical stories. They need to know about Noah’s Ark, the crossing of the Red Sea, David and Goliath, and all the stories in between!

The Gospel

All of these stories point to the story, the story of God sending his Son to become a human and save humanity. This is the story that we must talk about when we sit in our houses, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise. It is the story of our faith!

We must emphasize God’s goodness, holiness, and righteousness compared with our sinfulness and self-centeredness. We must present Jesus as the only One who can fix our broken relationship with God. The only One who can save and heal our world. He is the perfect mediator between God and man, because he is both God and man! He took our sins upon himself and offers to give us his righteousness. When we trust him by believing in his life, death, and resurrection on our behalf, we are saved. That means that we are accepted and loved by God, not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us.

You may be thinking, “how in the world can I begin to teach my children all these things?” My encouragement would be to take it one day at a time. One Bible story at a time. One church service at a time. One worship song at a time. Build rhythms of your life around reading Scripture (or children’s Bibles), attending church, and talking about God. Don’t overcomplicate it. Walk with Jesus yourself, and out of the overflow of your walk with him, pour into your children.

One practical way to begin is by reading good children’s Bibles that focus on the gospel. Some of my favorites are Jared Kennedy’s The Beginner’s Gospel Storybook Bible, Sally Lloyd-Jones’ The Jesus Storybook Bible, and Kevin DeYoung’s The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. Each of these books are excellent resources that not only retell the stories of the Bible but show how each of them points to the story of God’s salvation in Jesus.

Teaching our children to follow Jesus should not be a burden. It is a joy and a privilege. God has chosen us to be the conduits of his grace and mercy in their lives. But we must remember that it is his work, not ours. As Paul said to the church at Corinth, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Cor 3:6). We are called to plant and water. God will bring the growth!

Application

1. Hear The Shema as if was written to you! It is command is for parents, extended family members, churches, and communities of faith.
2. Look for ways you can incorporate spiritual disciplines like prayer, reading God’s word, and worship into daily life with your family.
3. Find ways to read or tell Bible stories with your family.
4. Practice the rhythm of reflecting on the gospel and discussing it with your family.
5. Join a local church and commit to it. The church community is the soil in which we can water and plant the seeds of faith for our children.

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[1] The word “one” here does not refer to a mathematical singularity that contradicts the doctrine of the Trinity. The same word is used in Genesis 2:24 to describe husbands and wives becoming one even though they are two distinct persons.