Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6, KJV

I think all of us are tempted to want our kids to be just like us and that means that they will think just like us. By making this very mistake, I found that I was sometimes training my kids in the traditions of men, rather than in the truth of God's Word. It finally dawned on me that the greatest gift that I could give them was to encourage them to read the Bible for themselves. In this way, when they were old enough to leave the safety of our home for college, work, and to begin families of their own, they would be leaving with their own faith instead of the faith of their mother and me.

Now, don't get me wrong: we still took them to the worship at the place we chose every week, and we expected them to attend willingly and cheerfully. We still talked to them about what we believed and why we believed it. We read Bible stories each night from a good Bible book, and as they got older, we read to them from the Bible itself. This is something I believe that all parents need to be doing at a minimum, so of course we will influence our kids in forming their opinions of what the Bible means. That's okay, because we do the same thing in less consequential areas such as discipline, education, a proper work ethic, and even the best sports team to root for (the Denver Broncos). 

But we realized that our kids needed to be going out into the world with their own faith! Each one of them read the Bible on their own during their own time. We never told any of them that they had to do this, but when we discovered they were doing so we were proud and encouraged them in this pursuit. As a result, they left our home with the knowledge that God and Christ loved them very much and were actually on their side. They learned on their own that there was a place of punishment for the unfaithful, but that through God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice, there was a place of eternal reward for those who are faithful. They learned that they could pray to God anytime they wanted, and that He deeply desired that communication. Speaking of communication, they learned that the Bible really was God's Word, and they therefore sought to find out what He expected of them, not just what mom and dad had told them that He expected.

I believe that the truths the Bible teaches are vital to our kids being able to develop into useful adults. They need to learn that God does not want them to lie or to steal or to be dishonest in any way. I believe that they need to know the fact that God created us male and female. I believe they need to know that sin is wrong and that He is displeased when we do sin, but that He has also given us a way to be forgiven of that sin. I believe that kids need to be taught that Jesus was a real person who really did love them so much that He died for them.

Further, I am convinced that kids are smart enough to be taught that the Bible really is God's Word and that they can trust that God was intelligent enough to make sure that we got that word without any mistakes. Because of this they can trust that they can find out, for themselves, what He expects of them. Then they can compare what they have read with what the world is trying to teach them, and they can make up their own minds as to which is right, and which is wrong. 

And by doing all this, our kids will learn, for themselves, how to be good citizens, good friends, good spouses, good parents, good employees and employers, and most of all, good servants of God. A daunting task, to be sure, but one that is really simple when you think about it. Once a child learns that God and Jesus love them and are on their side, it changes things. Once a child learns that the Bible is God's infallible and holy Word, it makes them want to read it for themselves. By doing so, they will steadily acquire their own faith - a type of faith that will make their parents proud.

By the way, the Happy Bible Academy begins this Friday morning at 10:00. With the schools in Happy going to a four-day week, Fridays became available to take an hour and have a simple Bible class for school-aged children. The intent behind these Bible classes is not to teach the kids what to think about God, but how to find out from the Bible itself what God wants them to know. We are hoping that in the hour a week that the Bible Academy runs, it will teach these kids the same thing.

I am convinced that our kids need to be taught that they were lovingly and purposely created by God, rather than just being here as a result of some "cosmic accident". I believe that kids need to be shown that they are deeply loved by God and that He is actually rooting for them to succeed instead of waiting for them to step out of line so that He can squash them like a bug. I believe that kids need to see the intelligence of the Word of God and realize that it reveals everything we need to know about Him.

Most of all, I believe that we adults have a sacred duty to train up our children in the way they should go - that's our part. If we will do that simple thing, God has promised that they will not depart from that way - that's His part. All we have to do is our best to fulfil our side of the bargain, and then trust God that He will fulfill His.