Last week when discussing family meal time I mentioned that some times we do our family Bible reading when we are all eating supper together. Though we often fail and get side tracked, I am convinced that the most important thing we can do in raising our children is imparting our faith to them. That of course is no guarantee that they will remain in the faith. After all they will one day be adults and making their own decisions, however, we are to raise them in the word, and the best way to accomplish that is reading the word of God together.
What is the purpose of reading the Bible with our kids?
First and foremost, we cannot make our children, Children of God or disciples of Christ. That is the sovereign choice of the King of Kings, due to the complete and finished work of His Son, and the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. So we are not trying to make them children of God when we read the Bible to them. But we are trying to arm them to deal with this present world that we live in, and share the good news of what Christ has done for us. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible and everyone of the 176 verses point to the importance of God's word in our life. This should tell us that there is great value in reading and studying the scripture for each of us.
Why practice this?
If we believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God intended for his people throughout time, then why wouldn't we make a habit of reading what he had to say to us. If we are indeed the bride of Christ why wouldn't we want to read and reread his love letter to His people. Almost 18 years ago now, when Gary and I first met, we sent emails and occasionally letters back and forth. We lived nearly 800 miles apart in two different time zones, with radically different schedules so it was the best way to communicate. I read and reread each one that arrived so often that I memorized portions. I tried to determine what he meant, what he was feeling, what he was saying to me. It should be no different when we take time to read the Bible.
The Bible tells us everything we need to know both doctrinally and practically in life. When we tell our children not to lie to us, it helps us to explain why not and what's wrong with it. "Just because I said so," doesn't hold much weight with kids. The Bible is the foundation of our morals and thus undergirds everything in our lives, so we should build on that sure foundation.
Perhaps that convinces you, or like me convicts you about how little time you spend in God's word, but wonder why that means you should read it to your kids. After all, they aren't going to understand that difficult King James English, right? If we want our children to understand the doctrines taught in the Bible, then we must teach them what those beliefs are and why we hold them. To do that we must be in the word with them, the actual word, so that they will understand what it teaches.
How does this work?
From the very beginning when reading the word of God we read to the kids the KJV. Modern translations insert other doctrine in and change or even just take out verses that they don't want to deal with. The KJV is the best translation today for English speaking people, from the way it was translated to the basic documents used for that translation. We believed that over time the kids would become familiar with the structure of the language, and we frequently stopped to define words and explain phrases. Over years of repetition and immersion in the KJV that has proven to be true. The goal from the get go was understanding of the Bible, not just a thing we have on our to do list, so it made sense to use the actual text.
We set aside time specifically for Bible reading. While we have done it in different ways at different times, the common component has been to read together and then discuss what we've read. I usually do this with the kids first thing while they finish breakfast as the start to our school day. Occasionally, or when we don't have school, I do it with supper. We often do reading on the way to or the way home from Church since we have little over an hour drive to Church each Sunday. Whenever you do it, the key is to be consistent. Growing up my father read to us every Wednesday evening for a little while and then discussed what we'd read. When we were really small I remember him reading us different Bible stories and explaining them before bedtime prayers. The key is to do it often.
In the past we have read a Psalm and a Proverb every day, circling through the book of Proverbs several times in a year. Defining and really explaining a different few specific verses in Proverbs each time through. Other times I've read the Bible chronologically to the kids (my personal favorite way to read and study the Bible). This year we are reading through the Bible with our Church family, so we read 4 days each week, Monday through Thursday. We got off schedule back with everything going on in April, but are pretty close to caught up now. The most important aspect about reading the Bible to our kids is to make a plan and stick with it.
The Key Practice to be Successful in this Endeavor
The most fundamental part of this whole exercise is the conversations that evolve from your reading. We read to impart knowledge, but we discuss to cement that into our hearts and to fully understand it. Throughout the Old Testament I will ask the kids, how does this point forward to Christ? How is this a picture of Christ? How can we apply this idea in our daily life? What do you think about what happened here? What do you think happens next?
I want to get the kids talking about what we've read, I want them to understand and interact with the material. I want it to have meaning for them, and not just be an interesting piece of history or another literature piece. It is an opportunity to share stories and examples of how the Lord has worked in our own lives, and to show our own shortcomings, so that they know they aren't alone in the struggle to follow Him better. And because the Bible contains so much depth, there is something new to point out every time we read it, no one will ever fully have a handle on every verse in every chapter of every book in the Bible, but we can study and learn more and more.
Sometimes they ask questions that I don't have the answer too. Sometimes it takes me some time to determine how to word a response, or I need to study more before I can explain it to them in a way that they will understand. Have you ever tried explaining what propitiation means to an 11 year old? Other times, if I don't have light on a subject or just can't figure out the answer, we need to take our question to our pastor. But this entire process helps them in so many ways.
Benefits of Reading the Bible with your Kids
Primarily this lets our children learn our beliefs, read and hear the words for themself, and to form their own opinion and understanding about the Bible. We don't want them to believe it just because we do, but we want it to be a heartfelt belief of their own. Reading the Bible with your kids and thus sharing our faith and worldview helps them to wrestle with questions and form their own worldview in the safety net of home, with guidance. It is a way to lay family rules down without attacking anyone but showing them this is a standard that we all strive toward, that we all miss sometimes, but what we work toward. It is also quality time with our children. By having important conversations and treating them like an adult by not shying away from hard topics and treating their questions with serious thought, we are building their emotional and mental health alongside their faith. Really it is an investment in your children. Finally, while your children may choose a different path as an adult they will never doubt what is of importance to you, and what you base your life on.
Other Fun Activities to Accompany Bible Reading
There are other things you can do while Bible reading. Sometimes I give the kids a coloring sheet with a verse lettered with it to decorate while we read a section of the Bible with that verse. My husband grew up playing Where's the Verse with his siblings and his pastor on road trips, where they would read a verse and the other person would tell where in the Bible it was found. They also played Bible Trivia by reading off the questions off of the cards and awarding points to the one who got them right while traveling. My kids also memorize Bible verses and on Fridays we see who can remember the most and sometimes they earn a quarter for every correct verse. The also like having bragging rights for the week. There are all kinds of ways to make learning fun and to approach Bible study with more than just an auditory or visual learning style by reading the word and following along as it is read.
In Conclusion
We cannot manufacture children of God, only the Lord can do that. However, we can give them a strong foundation for their life. We can invest in them and share these things with them so that when God deals with them they already have a knowledge base to draw upon. We can share with them the thing that makes our lives rich beyond measure and that is the knowledge of the truth that can only be found in the Bible, and the comfort of Jesus Christ.
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