Parents, God calls you to have an open love affair with his word. The open overflow of your love for God and his word is to be talked about all through the day in all kinds of situations. This is described in Deuteronomy 6:5-7. Here are four principles to draw from these verses:
First – God is to be loved with every fiber of your inner being and with every thought of your heart.
Second – The commands of God are to dominate your inner man, your heart.
Third – It is these thoughts that flow from your passionate love for God that are to be given to children, so that you can’t help but repeat them constantly.
Fourth – The context for repeating or impressing these words diligently upon your children is everyday life – whenever and wherever you sit down, walk, lie down, or rise up.
There is no place that God is not present. There is no situation, small or large, that he does not rule. There is no thought that escapes his notice. It is always practical to realize that God is present at the doctor’s office, in a traffic jam, at soccer practice, and when it is time for bed. There is no place where he is not to be loved.
Words spoken in this context are indeed pleasant words. This is much more than just information transfer. This is about showing God for who he is in everything you and your children do. It is about opening your heart to your children.
It is the wonder of God and his wise ways that must overwhelm you as you provide instruction, correction and discipline, as you encounter the living God at every moment of your life. God is always there to be loved and honored. Teaching children is done by opening your heart to them. Their struggles are your struggles. In this way you can intimately identify with their joys and fears. You can show them that you don’t want them to come to where you are, but you want them to go with you to the place that you long for – the cross.
Open your heart!
