Basic Training

The spiritual war on earth is going to last until the King Himself returns and personally vanquishes the enemy.  We can hope that day will be in the not-too-distant future, but it’s entirely possible that we’ve still got a looooong way to go.  Whichever is the case, just as wise soldiers in any kind of war have always done, we must prepare for the long haul even while we hope for victory relatively soon.

Unless we plan to live forever, we best be spending a great deal of our time seeing to the training of the new recruits.  We have a biblical mandate to lend our support, encouragement, and assistance to those younger than us who are also taking up the fight (or soon will be).  Titus 2, for example, lists some ways the “aged” men and women are to instruct the younger soldiers (and don’t think I’m trying to include myself among “the aged”!).

Within the family, we parents have the responsibility to inform our children of the lifelong struggle against the flesh, the world, and the devil, to encourage them to serve the Lord, and to equip them with the truth of God’s Word every step of the way as they also seek to “war a good warfare.”  How do we go about doing this?  The Lord hasn’t left us without instruction in this vital area.  His words regarding this matter are plain and practical.  After Moses restates the Ten Commandments and the overarching commandment to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might, he passes on these words from God to His people: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

Pretty straightforward.  Teach the children God’s ways, talk about them, wear them, put them up in the home.  That was the way the Israelites were to pass on the ways and words of the Lord to their children, and that’s exactly how we are to do the same today.  One does not need a doctorate in theology (and good thing, since I don’t have one) to grasp the heart of what’s being said here.  God is not simply providing us with a formula (although it is a pattern to be followed, for sure).  We could quiz our kids up with biblical history until they’re unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit: Bible Edition (I’m sure there is such a thing), and cover our walls with wall word decals and pictures and still miss the point completely.  This is a lifestyle we’re talking about; it’s about surrounding ourselves with God’s words and taking every opportunity given by Providence to speak with our families about the Lord and His world as we go through regular daily living (not to neglect, of course, times dedicated to organized family worship, prayer, or study).  If even eating and drinking can be done to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31), surely day to day life must be full of opportunities to illustrate biblical truths, if we’d only ask God for the eyes to see and the words to bring the truths home for our children.  This is a challenge for me; I know I let chances go by far too often due to busyness or being unsure exactly what I should say in a given situation.

We parents can’t teach what we don’t possess ourselves.  If we want knowing and understanding the Scriptures to be central in our children’s lives, we need to put those things at the center of our own first.  As we do that and ask God to lead us in properly leading our family, the practical aspects of teaching will fall into place.  If learning the ways of God is our own consuming desire, we will naturally talk about what we’re learning and our own personal victories.  Our children will benefit tremendously, and we will be fulfilling God’s command to us as parents to “teach them diligently.”