What is the only topping that belongs on pizza? And why is it sausage?
True Americans never put ketchup on a hot dog.
Coffee served over ice is both weird and defeats the purpose.
None of these statements can be argued by any clear-thinking person. Science hasn’t told me this. I learned this from my ancestors – my parents, grandparents, and uncles.
We cannot determine the heart affections of our children,
but we can strongly influence them.
It is likely that all of us have passions and tastes developed in us by the passions and tastes of those before us, like my affinity for a good thin crust pizza covered with Italian sausage and nothing more. I acquired the taste from eating with my teenage uncles. Of course, not every passion passes to those after us. My parents and grandparents drank hot coffee from sunup to sundown, as black as tar, my mom being the exception. She desired milk and sugar. Hot or cold, it doesn’t matter. Coffee is gross.
Christian parents and grandparents desire that their children want to follow Jesus. At least, I’d like to think they do. I certainly hope they do. As we do most everything else, we have the capacity to impact how our children think about the Lord, the thought behind Deuteronomy 6:6-9.
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Picking up from where we left off last time, here are suggestions for growing an appetite for the Lord in our children.
Five Suggestions for Growing an Appetite for Our Lord, His Word, and His Church in Our Children and Grandchildren
Prioritize the Lord’s Day
I know I say it all the time, but there is good reason to emphasize the importance of the Sunday gatherings of the local church. When I was a kid, I recall my pastor telling the church to “be here every time the doors are open.” Truthfully, my family was in attendance Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, every night of the weeklong meetings, every night of missions conference, and throw in the New Year’s Eve service too. My sister and I are the beneficiaries of my parents’ decision to emphasize the church gathering in our family.
Our church has not heard me use the phrase “every time the doors are open,” but I am concerned about the casualness of some towards the gathering of the church on Sunday. Traveling athletic teams, spending the night at a friend’s, a part-time job, school events late Saturday night, away at the lake for the weekend, and more, keep children away from the gathering of the church far more Sundays than many realize. When events compound, it can be three or four weeks between gatherings. In the spiritual battle for the appetites of our children 10, 15, 20, or more Sundays away from the gathered church cannot be helpful.
Fill your home with Christian Music
At our worship services, it is easy to tell the families that play Christian music in their homes and cars. They are the ones where the children sing. Christians have their own music, and they sing it when they gather. Their music teaches Bible truth, encourages sad hearts, challenges fearful soldiers, and unites Christians to each other. Homes where Christian music plays creates an appetite for the Lord who is the theme of all our songs.
Streaming services and air pods have made communal listening to music a thing of the past. No one gathers the family around the radio or spins an album on the stereo for all to share. It is not uncommon to see a family in the SUV and each child in his own world listening to his own music. I do not go so far as to say individual listening is wrong. I will say that you can aid in developing an appetite for our Lord by filling your home and car with Christian music that you listen to together.
Share Answers to Prayer and the Requests You Make
Is God real? The question isn’t new. Pharoah raised the question to Moses, and every generation since the fall has wondered if there is a God. If there is, what is he like and what difference does his existence make to me? These are only a few of the big questions. Maybe you are still asking some of them.
When we pray, we attest to our belief of something beyond ourselves. When we pray directed by the Bible, we identify the recipient of our prayer as the triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit. Our children and grandchildren need to know that we pray to God because we desperately need him, and they do too.
You are wise to teach your children to pray, and you are wise to have your children hear you pray. How often do your children hear you pray? Do they know some of the burdens you bring to the Lord? Do they know they too can bring their burdens to the Lord? Have they heard you confess sin and ask for God’s aid? When they sin, do they know they will find mercy with the Lord? Have your children experienced answered prayer in your family? Have your rejoiced with them at what God did for your family in answer to your prayer and theirs?
God draws us to himself by his grace in answered prayer. We draw near to God by praying.
Tell Our Stories
People who think the Bible is boring haven’t read the Bible. It is that simple. Look at the book of Joshua – river crossings, city walls crumbling, Joshua comes face to face with a man with a drawn sword, days longer than they should be, hail stones coming down from the sky taking out the enemies – all and more in just a few chapters. Bible stories are given to us for our learning. The hearing of them creates an appetite for more.
Hebrews 11 is a chapter of stories and offers that there are many more stories of God’s actions for his people than appear in the chapter. Place in your older children’s hands the stories of missionaries and the biographies of faithful Christians. There is no shortage of children’s books for grandparents to read to their grandchildren. I am convinced too many of our children have little appetite for God because they know so very little about him. We can remedy that.
Live Christ in your home
Sadly, most of us know adults who have no appetite for God despite the fact their parents had them in church every time the doors were, and despite the fact the car radio was tuned to the local Christian radio station, and despite the reality that the kids went to Vacation Bible School and the weekly Awana night. Often, reflecting on their childhoods, the adults remember a home where the family in the church pew was very different than the family in the minivan.
Our children know us better than nearly everyone else. They see our failures, our sins, and weaknesses. We wish they didn’t. The problem is not that we continue to sin, and our children are aware. The problem is our children see no humility, no confession, and no change toward Christlikeness. What they see is open hypocrisy. On Sunday, they hear a parent say “Amen” only to hear that same parent curse later in the day. On Sunday, they listen along with their parents to the Word of God only to watch their parents disobey the very Word of God they received earlier in the week. It’s very confusing. It’s very unappealing. It has great potential to sour Jesus to our children and grandchildren.
There may be nothing more significant for developing appetite for our Lord, the Bible, and the church than humble Christianity lived out in the home by parents and grandparents.
I am sure you could add to my list. Please do. I’d value your suggestions.
You have heard me say often that there should never be a need for an evangelist to come to the home of any of my children and grandchildren. We have the gospel in our possession, and so do you. God grant us grace that the gospel never depart from our family trees. I’ll pray with you that way. I hope you’ll pray with me.
As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.