There is a heartwarming story told of a little boy who stayed on his Mom’s heels constantly one day. When his mom had had enough, she stopped and asked, “Why are you following me everywhere I go?” The little boy replied, “I learned in Sunday school that I am to follow Christ. I can’t see Him, so I am following you.”
That thought is somewhat humbling yet true. Our children have a natural yearning to know and learn of God. God places His “God-void” in our hearts when He forms us in the womb. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT): “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
What do we know about Him? Psalm 135:5 (NLT): I know the greatness of the LORD— that our Lord is greater than any other god.” When our children wonder “What is God like?” how will they get answers? What do we say and do to introduce them to the One True God of the Bible? Psalm 19:9 (NLT): Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.”
We err greatly when we limit God to human attributes and to our miniscule experiences and knowledge we have learned from life. We can only describe others to the extent of what we truly know about them. The same goes for the Lord. We have erred greatly in a cultural mindset making God in our own minds and words in man’s image instead of learning of the One that made us in His image.
We are apathetic toward the Bible through which God has revealed Himself. As parents, when our children ask, “What is God like?” let’s open the Bible with them and learn of Him together. Exodus 34:6-7: “The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.’”
In other words, God is merciful; He doesn’t give us what we deserve. God is gracious and longsuffering. He abounds in goodness and Truth. He is forgiving and He keeps His promises. He is a holy God who is just in dealing with sin. He is the “perfect” parent and whom every parent should strive to be like!
“You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”
Exodus 20:5-6 (NLT)
Let’s choose the unfailing love promised us and our children when we love God and obey His commandments.
