Healthy, Loving Families Worship Jesus Together
As a boy approaching adolescence, I
met another boy about my age one day while climbing a fig tree.
It wasn't a very large tree, so I was surprised to find out it
could hold two people. The other boy was surprised to look
up and find someone else already in the branches above him.
The other boy's name was Jerry, and
I soon learned that he was a foster child in a family that had
cared for many children, adopting about a dozen of them over the
years. The parents were devout Christians who attended a
church across town every week. Before long, I was invited
to attend Sunday School and the morning church service with my
new friend. I didn't know I had made a mistake until after
I agreed to go one Sunday.
Once my parents got a taste of just
how peaceful a Sunday morning could be with me gone for several
hours, I was told that I had to go to church every week.
That was my step-father's idea. He and I didn't get along
very well, anyway, so he was glad to find a way to get me out of
the house. An added bonus for my folks was the idea that
going to church and Sunday School would do me a lot of good.
It didn't occur to them that I would feel completely out of
place among all those "religious" people who had such nice
clothes to wear to church, or that if "religion," as they called
it was so good for me, that it should be good for them, as well.
I was not the first child to be
trapped in such a predicament, and I know I will not be the
last. Lots of well-meaning adults try to "expose the kids"
to something good like church or synagogue or at least some form
of religious training. I've known of young people forced
to attend Christian schools while the parents never bother to
set foot in a church, as well as lots of kids that are sent to
Sunday School, VBS, and other good programs while at home there
is no thought given to God by Mom and Dad.
Surprisingly, many children do
benefit from caring people who work in church, Sunday School,
VBS, Bible camps and other worthy programs. When the love
of God is shown by genuine Christian people, and the Word of God
is patiently sown in young hearts, good things do often happen
over time. Unfortunately, many other children only learn
to resent the entire experience, and some fall into blaming the
Christians right along with Mom and Dad. When something
good is forced on a child, it ends up tasting more like medicine
than the wonderful treat it may actually be.
It is always best for Mom and Dad to
lead the way in all matters spiritual. Children will
naturally question things anyway, and wonder why people sing
songs to God, read and quote the Bible, and do the many other
things that Christian people do. But if they can watch Mom
and Dad pray, worship, sing, read the Scriptures, and live the
life of faith, they will find that following Jesus is a
meaningful way of life. They will see the hand of God at
work at home, and not just hear about it at church. No
parent is perfect, and most of us are not even close.
Children can understand that, and they can soon learn that
genuine Christian faith is not centered on human weakness but on
a faithful and present and all-powerful God.
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