Stories of God's Grace

This post was written for my other little blog at http://newcovenantpca.blogspot.com/. Just in case your interested.

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Has God been gracious to your family? Are you prepared to tell your children the story of God's grace?

The classic passage on instructing children, at least in the Old Testament, is Deuteronomy 6:1-9. There we are told to continually talk with our children about God's law (His word, His rules, His ways). What might be a little less familiar is the end of the chapter, where we are told to tell our children stories. And not just cute stories but serious, glorious, stories of God's works.

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there... (Deuteronoomy 6:20-23a.)

In other words, our children are bound to ask us at some point, "Why do we believe all this stuff?" Certainly they'll be asking when they are a teenager if not sooner!

What is striking to me is this. We are not told to engage in a heavy philosophical debate, such as, "Well, son, the Christian worldview is the one belief system that makes sense of the world as it really is..." This would be my natural approach. And there's a place for this kind of reasoning, to be sure.

What we're told to first tell our children is much more dynamic. We are told to tell them a story of God's grace--"We were in desperate straits. Apart from God we'd still be in a terrible mess. But He delivered us. So we're going to follow Him!"

The most profound story that we all share is the story of redemption in Jesus Christ. But I believe we should also tie that grand story to our personal story of God's redemption. For example, I can tell my son when he grows up, "I had no meaningful relationship with my dad. My mom was an example of faith, but I rebelled against God anyway and became an arrogant, foolish young man. But God rescued me; He saved me and changed my heart radically. And He put role models in my life to teach me His ways, and He blessed me with your mother who is a very wise woman. Apart from these graces of God, who knows what mess our family would be in. So we're going to keep following Him!"

What's your story? Have your kids heard it yet?