Home Education: Seizing the Day
There is a reason that the writer of Ecclesiastes exhorts his readers to: ‘Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth…’ (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
God has means and ways of saving his children, and in the providence of God, one of those means is that for a particular period in life we are more open to the influence of the gospel and the godly. That period, of course, is childhood. Puritan Thomas Watson writes, ‘The time of childhood is the fittest time to be sowing the seeds of piety in our children.’
Of course, whatever God plans for good, the devil will not hesitate to use for evil and that which makes children so open to the gospel, also leaves them susceptible to the lies and wicked influence of the world. Peter writes, ‘Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’ (1 Peter 5:8) Why do we assume that the devil has such good manners as not to take advantage of the time in our children’s lives when they are most easily persuaded?
I am writing not to provoke fear, but to provoke care, action and joy. Salvation ultimately belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8). Nevertheless, if God has given us children, then he has also privileged us with the responsibility of ensuring they have heard and understood the gospel while we have the opportunity to do so.
Where is the evidence that there is a particular window of opportunity to the gospel during childhood?
- Children are Trusting
Young children generally believe what they are taught. For this reason, many millions of children worldwide believe in Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy! They pick up these ideas from other children, books or even adults and if no adult speaks truthfully about these made-up character (Ephesians 4:25), children often continue believing them for a good while. Small children do not have the logical faculties to critique fantasy!
Children implicitly believe those in authority over their lives. Their minds are not cluttered up by lies and distortions and if an adult with influence teaches them that marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman, they will probably believe this and may well continue to do so as they grow older. If they learn a distortion of this truth first, however, then the extra work of debunking the distortion needs to take place as the truth is taught.
- Children are Easily Influenced
Proverbs says,
‘Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will no depart from it.’ (Proverbs 22:6)
This is clearly not a promise, but a general principle. We all know godly families who experience the heartbreak of a prodigal. We also know those, raised up in godless homes, who were wonderfully convicted and converted before serving the Lord devotedly all their days. Nevertheless, we have good reason to hope that if we train our children up in godly principals and truth they will one day be hid in Christ.
Who has the most influence over our children’s lives? If we send our children to an institution where they likely spend most of their time learning from teachers who do not believe in the Lord, who do not share biblical values on marriage, gender, life or the Bible and who have no inhibitions about expressing their own beliefs and biases, then might this come under the category of hindering our children (Matthew 19:14) or even causing them to sin (Matthew 18:6)? If the blatant teaching of ungodly behaviour and lies does not come under the category of ‘hindering our children’ then to what does this verse refer?
- Children Need to Be Taught
The Bible recognises that children need to be taught. Deuteronomy 6:7 assumes a relationship of learning and teaching between parent and child. The book of Proverbs is written to give ‘knowledge and discretion to the youth’ (Proverbs 1:4). Fathers are commanded to bring their children up in the ‘instruction of the Lord’ (Ephesians 6:4)
Interestingly, our culture also recognises that children need to be taught, which is why there is a general assumption that children should be in school. Granted, there is disagreement over exactly WHAT they should be taught, but there is an agreement that they should be taught SOMETHING!
What exactly are our children been taught? Are they being taught lies and untruth? If they are taught truth, then is this truth rooted in Christ? (Colossians 2:3)
We Must Not Lose Hope
Of course, the God who created the heavens and the earth, who sent a great flood to wipe away wickedness and saved a few in a specially designed ark is not unable to save those who have reached adulthood:
‘Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks rock in pieces.’ (Jeremiah 23:29)
But how much easier to make an imprint in clay than to wait until it has hardened and can only be worked at with a hammer?
We parents have a special and unique opportunity to sow truth into our children’s lives. Let’s seize the day!
