Your Rules or God’s Light
Here are two ways to view the Bible. Which one is more likely to be the view your children have of scripture?
View #1
The Bible and worship are “…nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” Isaiah 29:13
View #2
“The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.” Psalm 19:8
Quite a contrast! Isaiah laments that the word of God and the worship of God had become nothing more than tedious repetition to Israel. Such a view of the Bible corrupts the message of the gospel. This view will drive children from God.
But in Psalm 19 we find the refreshing love of God and his word. The commands of God bring joy and light to the eyes of the reader.
Parent, which view is closer to what you present to your children day in and day out? Is the Bible your lifeblood or is it a rule book of tasks and duties to control your children’s behavior?
You see, the real test of the Bible’s importance to you is this—how alive is the Scripture to you? Hebrews 4:12 describes the Bible as being living and active. Is the Bible merely a set facts you teach your kids? Or does this phrase in Hebrews speak of you? Do you read the Bible simply to increase your knowledge—or to be spiritually fed and enlivened as you read? Is it possible that you love what the Bible will do for you, but you struggle with actually loving it?
You know that your children must trust the Bible and live it. But do your children see that these words are living and working in you? Do your children believe that the Bible defines who you are?
Surely, you want more than rote knowledge to be the basis of your children’s life and worship. But for it to be more than rote for your kids, it must be more than rote for you. It must be alive to you. What is it that gives light to your eyes and
brings joy to your heart? Your children know the answer, but do you? This is a significant question, a question whose answer is at once disarming and revealing, if honestly asked and answered.
There is no more powerful gift you can give to your children than for the Word of God to bring light to your own eyes. Think about your relationship to God’s Word. How important is it to you? Does it bring light to your eyes as nothing else can?
The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes. Psalm 19:8