Passing It On

He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. (Psalms 78:5-7 NIV)

There are a lot of instructions in God's Word. They teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us in the way we should go so things will go well with us in this life as we look forward to the perfect life in the next. These instructions take time to learn and even more time to learn how to follow. Parents are given the responsibility to pass this along to their children.

You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. (1 Thessalonians 2:10 NIV)

It starts with walking the walk. Whether our parents taught us or not, we can still learn what it looks like to walk together with God. We can attend church services. We can attend small-group Bible studies. We can read Scripture. We can align ourselves with God's picture. God gives us everything we need through His Word and Spirit to live the life God calls us to live.

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 NIV)

Then, we can pass it along to our children. We have something to pass along. We aren't just sending them to church to hear from "them." We're going to church services together as a family. They are seeing how important God is to us by our attendance, other habits, and words. They aren't being taught by a bunch of other people, but by us as their parents. Not only that, they are learning as we teach the way God teaches us - in love. We encourage, comfort, and urge them to live lives worthy of God.

How about you? Were you taught in this way? Do you have an example of Godly parenting to follow in your own life? Do you follow this pattern yourself? Are you passing it on?