Will the World Catechize Your Child or Will You?

I remember it well.  It was summer of 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. It was either that afternoon or the next day when I received a call from a Lower School mom, in tears, asking how she would explain this to her 2nd grader. I was sick. Sick for the child; sick for this young mama; sick for our Supreme Court’s decision; and sick for other parents who were rearing their children in a culture where the highest court in the land had voted to disregard the biblical definition of marriage and call it legal.My answer: I told this precious mom to reference Matthew 19:4-5. This sacred vow is instituted by God; He planned for marriage and for families- for children to have a Mom and a Dad. Share with your child that since your family loves Jesus, worships God, and wants to obey the Bible, you choose to make your decisions based on Scripture. As your child gets older you might want to explain that many times our biblical belief-system will be counter-cultural. Certainly we do not judge others for their decisions; our response is one of love for the individual. God’s laws surpass man’s laws because God sets laws in place for our protection. He wants what is best for His people, and God’s ultimate best is providing Jesus as our Savior.As parents in the 21st century, your children will be exposed to seeing and hearing things that were not a "thing" when my husband and I were rearing our two. How will you prepare them for the spiritual battles that will be forthcoming?  When preschool age, you can pretty much protect their eye-gate and ear-gate, but even then, things will pop up. As we think about being IN the world, but not OF the world, I believe catechizing is one way of being pro-active with teaching the basic doctrines of the faith.Catechizing is a method of Socratic instruction using a simple Q. and A. format. For example, you might ask a child these questions and teach the answers:Q. “Who made you?”   A. - “God.”Q. “What else did God make?”  A. - “God made all things.”Q. “Why did God make you and all things?” A. - “For His own glory.”You teach your child to memorize the answers in response to your questions. This is rote knowledge, of course, but it is a place to start when children are young.When you enrolled your child at RDS, you received a small booklet entitled, First Catechism by Great Commission Publications. This resource is a good tool to use as a primer for teaching biblical truths and doctrines of grace. If you have misplaced yours, please let your child’s teacher know, and we will send another home in your child’s book bag, if you would like one.  You may access many various denominations online, as well.There is a plethora of devotional options and teaching tools to utilize as you share your faith with your child. You will see several of these resources on this week’s Instagram post. In fact, the peril of an abundance of resources is this: we have so many that we can fall into the trap of thinking that an abundance of resources is the key to biblical knowledge (as the books, Bible, and devotionals gather dust on the table). It reminds me of a story I once heard. A pastor was asked what was the best Bible (meaning which translation), and the wise preacher answered, “One that is well-worn.”

[embed]https://youtu.be/21TPVA8MP_U[/embed]