My mother-in-law loves to tell this story of her youngest child on the bus. It goes something like this. My sister-in-law rode the bus to get to school every day. Because of how rowdy kids can be on a bus (whether they’re riding for 5 minutes or 50), the bus driver had decided that it was necessary to assign seats. She would bring her Bible with her on the bus and one day she started reading parts of it to the younger girl who was her assigned bus buddy.
The Gift of God’s Word
After some time had passed of her doing this, she asked the girl if she had a Bible of her own. She did not. My sister-in-law went home that night and asked her parents if she could give her bus buddy her own.
It’s a great story of how God works through the mundane. It’s also a sobering reminder of the times we live in now.
Our children do not have the luxury of growing up with what one pastor near me calls “home field advantage.” Church numbers are in decline across the board and it is very likely that many of your children’s friends will not come from homes that are well-versed in the Bible. While one could sit and lament the state of the church, let’s be reminded of the opportunity our children have to be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Strengthen Faith at Church
In order to help our children maintain, strengthen, and share their faith, they truly need to gather with Christian brothers and sisters in worship. What does this mean? The author of Hebrews reminds us church participation matters as God strengthens us through His Word and the Sacraments. In order to hold fast to our confession of faith we need not be “neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25). When we hear God’s Word, sing His praises, and pray together, we are encouraging one another, that, in turn pushes our children’s faith walk further. Sunday School lessons with peers for you and your children, teachers or mentors that you can go to with questions, and tasting forgiveness week after week—all of these elements work to strengthen your spiritual walk for life beyond the church parking lot.
We sometimes emphasize walking with God beyond Sunday at church, and that is a beautiful thing, but let’s not forget that God has given us the time of worship to center us and others on His Word.
Equip for Questions at Home
If we only ever speak about Jesus in our homes during special times of the year, we miss out on many opportunities to teach our children how to think, pray, and lean-in during questions or times of doubt. Creating a space where children can ask the “what does this mean” question or wonder about a teaching in Scripture helps to train them for when they encounter these same questions and confusions outside your home. Honestly, this is part of what the Everyday Faith calendar aims to do. It aims to aid you in creating space for your children to wonder and think deeply about Scripture, Jesus, and their life in faith.
Be An Easter Person in the World
Easter is an entire season of the church year, not just one day of celebration. The Easter season of the church calendar is marked by rejoicing in the celebration of the risen Christ. It’s a remembrance of the person in history who actually walked the earth. The man who was unjustly executed by corrupt people, but who didn’t stay in the grave and walked the earth again. Easter is a day to remember that we do not fight for victory over sin, death, and the devil but from victory. We know the story, and the story does not end with death but with new life.
To be an “Easter Person,” a phrase that harkens back to St. Augustine’s exposition on Psalm 148, is to live knowing the joy that is to come. It’s to live in such a way that people might ask about the hope that you cling to (1 Peter 3:15). In Hebrews, the author reminds us that in order to live in a broken world we must be “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (12:2).
In 2 Corinthians 3:3, Paul says,
“And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
In a world marred with death, strife, and struggle—try to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Be kind when it would be easier to be unkind. Be a source of peace when others seem chaotic. Your children will model this in their own lives as they continue building trust in the forgiveness which flows from the cross, blooms in the resurrection, and looks toward the life of the world to come. And God has called you—their parent—to aid in passing the faith to them and through them.
Scripture: ESV®.
Dig into Scripture and prompts for each day to cultivate faith conversations in your home this Easter season.
