Read more of Abbie Mabary’s contributions to allmomdoes here.
I don’t know about you, but the burden of passing my faith on to my kids can feel really heavy sometimes. Like many Christians, I am constantly wrestling with my own faith. The thought of passing a set of beliefs that I’m still hammering out for myself seems pretty tricky. In a world where we are all constantly changing and growing and maturing, it can seem like an impossible task to teach our children what exactly it is that we believe.
But is that the goal even? To teach them what WE believe? Or should we be helping them nurture their own beliefs?
A few years ago, our family made the decision to try to read through the Bible in a year. We are a group who loves a good challenge and we all recognized that this particular goal would be difficult, but we wanted to give it a try. To our surprise we managed to meet our goal. Not just once, but three times, we have read through the Bible in its entirety over the course of a year. It’s something we are all proud of, but please don’t be fooled: it wasn’t all Norman Rockwell evenings by the fire.
During the years that we have committed to reading through the Bible, we have freaking white knuckled it. We would get days behind and then be forced to read for an hour to catch up. We would read in the car, we would read at home, we would read on vacation (road trips proved to be a great chance to catch up/get ahead). We would read while we fought and there were times that we would giggle through it. It was not always fun family bonding but it was something we were all committed to.
Occasionally the scriptures we read would bring about questions and conversation, but more often we would just read through it, pray, and go to bed. We essentially just let the Bible say what it said and left it at that. Some concepts went right over their little heads and some really hit home. The same is true of their dad and I: some stuff I’m sure we didn’t really understand while some things hit us hard.
I kind of think that’s how it works. I think we read the Bible and it touches us each in the way we need to be touched. I think we need to expose our kids to it and allow it to settle into their own hearts. I think THAT is how we pass our faith on to them. I think it has less to do with what stance we take on the latest controversial topic and more to do with allowing God’s word a place in our heart, a place in their hearts. I think we allow them to read the words and then apply them to their own lives in the way that makes sense to them. I think that is how we allow their faith to be THEIR FAITH and not our own faith, reheated like yesterday’s leftovers (you know, not really that bad but still not as good as it was when it was fresh).
When I remind myself of that, it takes some of the pressure off. When I remember that the burden of passing my faith down to my kids can be met with spending some time with them in The Word each day, it makes it seem more like an honor and a little less like a burden.
In the end, I hope our kids are able grow a faith that can white knuckle when it needs to. A faith that can be called upon when they are safe at home as well as when they are away. A faith that will serve them equally well when they are fighting and when they are having smooth sailing. A faith that they will be able to commit to no matter what life throws at them. That’s the faith that I was passed from my parents and it’s a faith that has served me well.
Are you interested in reading through the Bible with your family? Here are a few versions to check out. The Chronological Bible In A Year begins at creation and goes chronologically, not necessarily book by book. The One Year Bible takes a portion of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and some of Psalms or Proverbs each day. If you have small children, The One Year Children’s Bible might be a perfect choice though it only includes excerpts and doesn’t work through the Bible in its entirety. Or you can check out But God Ministry for their free downloadable and printable guides.
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