Teach Your Children Well

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 NIV)

The Christian faith has many beautiful traditions.  But so do other faiths, and when I hear of some of them, I wish we could incorporate them in some way into our own church.  We can do so as individuals, I guess, but that doesn't have the same power as knowing that all of our brothers and sisters in Christ are doing the same thing.

I love our Lutheran practice of baptizing infants.  It is a wonderful way to teach them that they belong to God and it is by nothing they have done or haven't done.  God simply claims them and loves them from birth.  They are a part of the family and part of the body of Christ right away because God chooses them, not the other way around.

A Jewish tradition I have loved ever since the first time I watched Fiddler on the Roof is the tradition of blessing the children at the table of the the Sabbath dinner.  What a wonderfully beautiful way of letting children know they are loved and blessed and important.

This morning I read of an awesome Muslim tradition.  The moment a baby is born  the "adhan" or "call to prayer" is whispered in the baby's ear.  Translated, the words "God is great" are the first words the infant hears outside the womb.  Wonderful!

Sadly, we mostly rely on our places of worship to teach our children about God.  But that should be first and foremost the family's duty.  "God is great" (the adhan) should be the first thing they hear from their parents and then they should hear it again and again as they grow.  "God loves you and you belong to him" (baptism) is another important lesson that should begin in infancy.  "You are important and your gifts and talents are of great use in this world"(Sabbath blessing) is the message that should be placed in the hearts of our children on a regular basis.

I'm sure if we keep our ears open and receptive to other cultures, we could find other ways of instructing the children in our care all about the greatness and love of the God who gave everything for us.

Lord Jesus,
At your baptism, your Father spoke his delight in you.  May each of us, though we may no longer be children, hear those words spoken to our hearts.  And may we instill those words in the hearts of our children and grandchildren.  Amen.

Joys:  Cecelia's quick recovery from her tonsilectomy; time with Emma... she is getting so big and so much fun to play with; a long weekend with Richard