Notice the first instruction of the verse..."Repeat them to your children."
Repeat - meaning that you've already said these words enough to yourself that you can now repeat them to your children. You have a familiarity with what you are saying...so familiar in fact, that you can repeat them at any given opportune moment. When you're at home, when you're away. When you first get up in the morning having breakfast, or late at night when you're tucking your babies in bed. (And speaking from a mother's point of view, your children are always your babies!) As I've said before, "these words" should always be on the tips of our tongues, ready to be spoken at just the right Spirit-led moment.
Oh - and which words were given with these instructions? The words from last week's verse...
"Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. These words I give you today are to be in your heart."
These are the words we are to repeat to our children. Words of faith, words of conviction. That we know who our God is, and we love Him completely. I think what we need to take away, is that at every possible moment we are to convey to our children just how deep our love is for our God. It is a hard thing to explain to a child how you love someone that you cannot, and have not ever seen. That is why the introduction of the concept should come early, and then repeated often, and in various ways.
With the sighting of a rainbow, when observing the stars at night, when talking about the wonders of our bodies, as our children get older the conversations can get deeper.
Repeat, and then later repeat again...and again....and again. Until one day, when your prayers are answered, you will hear your child teaching the love of God to their child. At that moment, I believe God the Father is smiling just as warmly as the earthly mother or father who is watching and thinking, "This is life's best moment yet."
Oh - and which words were given with these instructions? The words from last week's verse...
"Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. These words I give you today are to be in your heart."
These are the words we are to repeat to our children. Words of faith, words of conviction. That we know who our God is, and we love Him completely. I think what we need to take away, is that at every possible moment we are to convey to our children just how deep our love is for our God. It is a hard thing to explain to a child how you love someone that you cannot, and have not ever seen. That is why the introduction of the concept should come early, and then repeated often, and in various ways.
With the sighting of a rainbow, when observing the stars at night, when talking about the wonders of our bodies, as our children get older the conversations can get deeper.
Repeat, and then later repeat again...and again....and again. Until one day, when your prayers are answered, you will hear your child teaching the love of God to their child. At that moment, I believe God the Father is smiling just as warmly as the earthly mother or father who is watching and thinking, "This is life's best moment yet."
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