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Last month, a friend of mine loaned me a copy of World Magazine, a biweekly Christian news magazine, and I simply devoured it. One article that made a strong impression on me was an interview with a Jewish Rabbi on the subject of teaching the younger generation about God's Word. It seems, in his perspective, that Christians and Jews are suddenly finding themselves in a similar dilemma: how do we keep the next generation of believers committed to the Word of God?
About halfway into the interview, the Rabbi opened up about his concern for young people:
Rabbi: "Something I am most concerned about is that too many Christian millennials just don't have the same interest, intensity, and love for the Word of God as the older generation did. They say, 'Just give me a message! Put it on a six-second Vine, a 140-character Twitter, a three-minute YouTube [video].' They just want to know what the 'message' is--and they want it to be social justice..."
Interviewer: "So..."
Rabbi: "That's not going to work! If people say the message is, 'just be a better person,' what happens when you spot a Buddhist who's doling out soup to homeless people with the same passion? You'll start wondering, 'He's doing what I'm doing...so what does my faith have to do with it?' Even doing good things can be self-serving: It makes you feel good. If your beliefs are not related to the rest of your lifestyle, you can't really hope to build lasting community and transfer your beliefs from generation to generation."**
I think what the Rabbi is saying is very true and is integral to understanding how we, as God's people, share our faith with the next generation. We cannot just transfer "messages" or sound bites, Christian platitudes, or isolated Bible verses (as great as those things can be). Instead, our children and the young people in our churches and communities must see us applying the Scriptures, talking with God in prayer, and walking with God through faith in our daily lives.
This reminds me of what Barbara Bancroft said to us at my church's Ladies Retreat this past spring. She made a comment that, in her opinion, Christian parents talk too much to their children--too much lecturing, too much sermonizing. Instead, she offered, we ought to invite them into our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We should let them see us read God's Word and wrestle with it, pray over things, and step out in service with faith. Instead of talking to them, we ought to be open--authentic, real and perhaps even *gasp* vulnerable.
What about you, dear friend? Are you content with just receiving a message? Or do you mine the riches of God's Word for yourself? If not, here's a great place to start. Do you neglect teaching your children God's Word? If so, here are some resources for you to get you started. If you do teach your children, are you willing to be open with your little ones, so they can see your struggles, weaknesses, fears, and all the areas (or at least some!) you are trusting God in your life? If not, will you commit to praying toward this end, dear one? I trust that as you do, God will show you how to shepherd your family and share an authentic and contagious faith and love for God's Word that will build a Christian legacy in your home that will last!
I know that is my prayer for our home. It is not easy and it is not perfect, but I am grateful we serve a God of grace whose power is made perfect in our weakness! Let us all step out in obedience and invite our children into our lives of faith. Let us never be content to just give them "messages" but truly inspire them in their faith and in their love of God's Word!
**World Magazine. "Mutual Mission." Vol. 32, No. 7; April 15, 2017. Print.
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