It Is Never Too Early

As I sat down to write, I remembered a time when I met a childhood friend at a children’s bookstore in Lithuania. As I was perusing the books, I couldn’t contain my excitement about seeing many beautiful Bibles. Knowing my friend grew up Christian, I asked about her favorite Bible for her young son. Her answer was so unexpected that at that moment I did not have a ready response. “There are so many things I do not understand in the scriptures, that I simply could not explain it to him correctly. It is not something we read right now. I don’t even know how to begin to explain such a big concept as God to such a young child like my son.”

I never realized such a reason could make somebody wait. I knew I too did not understand a lot of things perfectly, and although my teaching is far from perfect, it never stopped me. I live believing our limitations should not stand in the way of our children learning about their Creator. We are so frightened by our disbelief that we assume children are too. But they are not. They are much more eager to believe! It comes to them naturally. Jesus even told us to become like them – open, innocent, trusting.

Wishing our children the best, we introduce a proper diet now and do not wait for them to grow up and then let them decide about it. Teaching children the Bible is not a lecture on religious ideas or ceremonies. It is teaching them how to live and have a good life. And that teaching must begin very early.

For my friends who are not reading their Bible regularly, I suggest to start by reading a children’s Bible to their children. That is how I came to really love God’s Word. Once we start doing it daily, we cannot help but be changed. I tell my children that their Bible is not just another great book. And those black letters on the pages are not just simple words. These words are God’s words and they are alive. His Spirit is willing to reveal the love, wisdom, and meaning of His Word to us when we ask Him.

Never would we leave our children without breakfast, lunch or dinner. However, it is so easy to be caught up in our busy routines, schedules and priorities and not open God’s book, leaving them without tasting His spiritual food. I close with a verse from Deuteronomy 6:7, encouraging us to build in God’s teachings in our every day routine: “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”