WHAT INSPIRED ME TO WRITE CHILDREN'S BOOKS, DAY 3

Two years after my aha moment with God, He highlighted to me the importance of introducing my kids to Him. He opened my eyes to see that I had plans for most of the things I wanted my boys to be good at, like swimming, basketball, karate, piano, and so on, but when it came to teaching them His Word, I had no plan for that.

The irony was that I was quick to tell people whenever the opportunity came that I would rather have my boys know the Lord than be the best student in the whole world without knowing the Lord. What I was actually doing at that time was talking as if teaching my kids about God would happen by osmosis.

The fact was that my boys were doing well academically because my husband was making a conscious effort to ensure they had the help they needed with their schoolwork. In his own words, my husband wanted our boys to be academically ahead. Being the man of his word that he is, he would sit them down and teach them material beyond their grade level. He even enrolled them in Kumon (an individualized math and reading program).

He and I are exact opposites. I absolutely enjoy other things with my boys, but helping with schoolwork and other academic activities isn’t one of them. But I do it with them anyway if it needs to be done.

Prior to God reminding me about my spiritual neglect of my kids, I was relying solely on my church to train my children spiritually, unaware that it was first my responsibility, and the church was there to partner with me. I was that kind of Christian mom who thought it was the Sunday school teacher’s responsibility to teach my kids God’s Word. While we prayed at home here and there, I had no strategic plan.

The only time my children heard Bible stories was at the Sunday church service. The question God asked of me was, “How often did the Sunday school teacher see my boys?”

Later, God recalled my husband’s statement about wanting our boys to be "academically ahead" and his devotion towards it. So, He asked me what I was also doing intentionally to help our boys become "spiritually ahead", since I was talking so much about wanting them to know Him, but not acting on it.

I am very grateful to the Sunday school teachers and applaud them for their commitment to teaching kids about God. However, parents need to understand that Sunday school teachers are there to partner with them in teaching their kids God’s Word, not to take on that full responsibility. God gave parents the instruction to tell their children about Him so that His story of redemption will not be lost to the next generation (Deuteronomy 6:7, Psalm 78:1-8).