A Spiritual Backpack
“Your Word have I hid in My heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11)
At the beginning of the year, teachers post a list of supplies their students will need, depending on the grade, such common items include pencils, pens, paper, and binders, etc. These are the things that help children fill their minds with reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmatic. However, the social life at school can make learning difficult due to the pressure to fit in and perform.
How can the adults in their life help them navigate hard choices, such as dealing with bullies, betrayal or the temptation to cheat, gossip or be a bully? How can they overcome anger, sadness and rejection? As the Isaac Watts song asks, “How shall the young secure their hearts, and guard their lives from sin?”
The answer lies in supplying God’s Word into their spiritual backpack. Psalm 119:11 says, “your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” As the song asks, “How shall the young secure their hearts and guard the lives from sin?” Through constant exposure to Scripture (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Such exposure can create a worldview that allows them to see and interpret the world through God’s eyes.
- Seek practical ways to teach them. Teachable moments can be found in the media you consume (movies, TV shows, reels and podcasts and news). How might the people in them resolve problems in their life if they were to apply the teachings of Jesus to them?
- Let them see you apply the Word in practical ways. Those teachable moments can be in real-life situations you find yourself in. How do you react to strangers on the road, at the grocery store or in a restaurant? How do you react to people you love? Are they the same at home as they are in public? Would you be embarrassed if they read an email or a text you sent in anger or saw the kinds of things you read online?
- Begin or end the day with family worship. Pray about what you read. Answer questions that arise and make no question off limits.
- Encourage them to read it on their own in a translation they can understand.
- Seek practical ways to teach them. If you pack their lunches, put a sticky note with a daily verse inside and a personal note of encouragement. Tell them you are praying for them and you will always love them, even when they fail.
Through constant exposure, we can help our children fall in love with the Spirit-inspired Word, which points them to the Word who came in the flesh and revealed the Father and His infinite love for us (John 1:14-18; 3:16; 14:8-11)