In Philippians 2 Paul encourages us to 'Hold firmly to the word of life'.
To hold onto it, to know its The Word and to know that it brings life. To not let go of it or replace it with other things to take hold of instead.
I picture (somewhat metaphorically) our children holding onto it as little ones, tucked in under their arms, surviving Kindy, hugged at night, and carried with them on their school days as they journey and grow. With them in the playground, at a sleepover, buried at the bottom of a sleeping bag on camp, nestled next to them as they play inside, carried on an outdoor adventure, or company for them in moments of silence.
We can all agree that we want our children to hold firmly to the Bible, to the ‘words of life’. This is our hearts cry as parents and a prayer of hope for our children too. But how does this beautiful end goal become a gritty reality? What does it look like for them on the way as they learn and stumble and cry out and discover for themselves?
Firstly they need a Bible, one that can be leafed through with pictures, one that can be read to them and with them, one that can be treasured and secreted away all by themselves. One that has readable clear language, not diluted, one that can be memorized and reread as they discover favourite verses and stories.
And they need to see yours in use too, out, open, but also just lying on the coffee table, and beside your bed, and well-loved and crinkled and underlined and highlighted and coming with you to Church.
There's no magic in this use, it's not a formula for saving your children, it's not a prescription for getting it right, but it is deeply formational. It lets them know that the Bible carries the words of life, that it must be taken in and consumed and integrated into life, that it is relevant, and personal and sacred and anchoring.
I fondly remember my Dad's big brown Bible, worn and sellotaped, with swirling gold writing on the cover and wrinkled crinkly pages. It was good for hut building - to hold down blankets, or to create towers. It was often left open in his room, read with audible murmurs of agreement and exclamations of 'brilliant'. It was too big to go to Church with him every Sunday morning, but stuffed with papers when he preached, and often carried with his guitar case to a mystical night service.
We have never talked about it. There has never been a conversation about reading it or a lecture on the dangers of not. I even had to text him to ask him what version it was, (the New American Bible version as it turns out, the one that came out in the 70s). But I remember what it all meant. It meant that it was real, that it mattered, that it was somewhat ordinary and everyday, that it was routine, that it was treasured, that it was important, considered, referenced, dug into, personal, part of him and his life.
A great teaching strategy for our children is to 'show, not tell' .
What they can observe, notice, and experience around them carries more weight and becomes more connected for them than what we just tell them.
Let them find the story from Sunday mornings teaching in the Bible with you.
Let them see how far through the Bible that part of the story was, compared with Jesus' time in the Gospels.
Show them your highlighted go-to verses, the verses that revive and refresh you, the Psalms that allow you to find words to praise God on bad days and encourage others on good ones.
Let them find their memory verse in your Bible and circle it, showing where it fits in the chapter and verse layout.
Talk about your favorite Bible story, reminding them that all stories fit within the big God Story of Rescue and Redemption.
Psalm 84 verse 3 says this about living in the presence of God, and dwelling in His house, that 'Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!'
It's a beautiful picture of the safety and nourishing peace that is available in the presence of God, in His words of Life - even to a little bird raising her young in the coziness of the altar, even just being near it.
Let's build nests for our young in the presence of our King and our God.
Let's make room for them to be near Him, to find safety and refuge in His words and the beginning of a relationship that spans their whole life and let's be willing to create homes where ordinary Bible moments sit amidst weetbix and spilled milk and morning coffees and washing piles on our tables.
Let's 'Hold firmly to the word of life' as families.
Arohanui,
Charlotte