Rooted in God

We must raise up a generation who are ROOTED in the word of God. That’s not a generation who are familiar with the stories of the Bible, or a generation who understand the theology of the Bible or who even remember memory verses.

It would be possible to have all these things and not be rooted in the Bible.

Equally we are not event talking about children who love the Bible or those who read the Bible regularly.

If they are to be rooted in the Bible all of these things are necessary, but it would be possible to have all this understanding of the word and still not be rooted in it!

This is Jesus’ warning when he speaks of those who hear his teaching and those hear and obey his teachings (the wise and foolish man who build their houses on the rock and sand).

This is the essence of Psalm 1 which talks of the person who doesn’t just follow those around them (‘the wicked’) and does not try to reason why sinners’ way could be right and, who does not base their decisions on those who would mock truth. Instead, their mind and their heart are so saturated with God’s word that every decision, every action and every direction is set by the word of God.

In short someone who has a Biblical worldview that informs all that they do.

The word of God is not intended to be used as a life advice book, but it is the essence of life that should be followed and as Psalm 1 goes on to demonstrate that when you are you saturated with a biblical mindset everything you do will prosper.

But, we are not raising children with a biblical worldview.

In much of the western church we are not even raising children with knowledge of the Bible stories, let alone the theologies they point to. There is much work to be done.

If we fail to do this, then we are preparing a generation to walk away from the Lord (as much of the generations before them have). This is not a side thought, this is the very essence of discipleship and where we are not getting it right we must correct, starting today. 

I was recently chatting with a young Christian who told me he was in the process of deconstructing his faith. I asked him where he was finding truth and he told me his main source was his lived experienced and what felt right to him. His second source was papers written by people who have a different view from traditionalists who are only seeking to rewrite what others have said. Note his source was not the Bible!

God’s word should always trump man’s opinion and this requires us to have a high view of the word of God. We must raise our children to know this.

But, if knowing the Bible stories, memory verses, reading the Bible regularly and loving the word are not enough, how can we ensure our children are rooted in the word? The starting point will be the list above, but it must not be the end point.

The end point must be that the Bible informs what we do and the choices we make in life. In other words our children should be rooted in the word to understand the world not the other way round. Remember, Jesus Christ is the Word. He is the embodiment of all of God’s revealed word lived out. When our children are rooted in the word they are rooted in Christ.

Choosing our curriculums carefully is important – is there are rigorous theology undergirding what we are teaching our children or are we teaching them Gospel-light. Does the teaching focus on behaviour modification or heart encounter with God? When you look at an overview of the whole year what was the emphasis of the teaching – does the message of the cross permeate throughout the teaching schedule, or does it only appear at Easter time?

If we feed our children spiritual junk food we cannot expect our children to become spiritual healthy.

Helping our children grow in love with the Bible will come as they see our love for the Bible. As the Lord shows me things from His word, I have made a point of sharing them first with my family, allowing my enthusiasm with the new revelation I have received to infect them. My children would catch me reading the Bible in the morning and they all read through the whole Bible at a young age – not because we made them, but because enthusiasm is contagious.

But the final step to being rooted is that we help our children to apply the word to their lives, to the issues they are facing and to the way their view things. Provoke them to consider their thinking and to see if it lines up with how a child of God should view things.

A plant takes all of its nutrients from where it is rooted. It does not bounce around from one location to another it is fixed in one place and its health is determined by the spot that it grows in. This is why this is essential. 

Many children in our society do not know the Gospel. We must take it to them.

Many children in our churches do not know the Bible. We must teach it to them.

We must also model what it looks like to live out the Bible.

Then we will raise a generation who will be able to stand in the days that are coming, immovable and unshaken by world events or personal challenges, fixed in God’s way.

By God’s grace, and with the help of His Spirit, we can do this but it will require something more from us as we come alongside the children to encourage, model and challenge them in their walk with the Lord.

After all, all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteous so that the servant of God will be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 The world will see them as strange but the Lord will view them as a holy – a generation who never bow the knee to the baals of this age.

Review your teaching, review the impact on your children’s lives and pray for God’s grace to raise such a generation.