Tuesday, December 9, 2014

December 10, 2014

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

When you aspire as a Christ-follower to raise your children to also be passionate Christians, it is helpful to know how Jesus grew.

While the Gospel record doesn't provide specific details on Jesus childhood, we do know from this portion of Scripture that Jesus was a well-grounded child.

What do I mean by well-grounded? 


I mean He had a solid foundation of knowledge in the Law and the Prophets and Jewish faith traditions. I can imagine Mary or Joseph telling young Jesus the creation story as they tucked Him in for bedtime. They told of the other Bible heroes like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Daniel, and David.


How do I know Jesus was well-grounded?


I know because Luke 2 Mary and Joseph found the young Jesus in the synagogue holding His own in discussions and debates with the Religious Leaders, Scholars, and Rabbis. How could he keep up with these learned men unless He, too, was well-grounded in His faith.


As Pastor at FredWes, I want our precious children to be well-grounded in the knowledge and understanding of their faith. I am confident our many fine parents share that goal with me.


To me, being well-grounded first requires knowing Jesus Christ as their personal Savior just as soon as they are old enough to understand their need for salvation. Once they find Jesus they should be able to name all 66 Books of the Bible and their Old Testament and New Testament divisions. Being well-grounded means knowing all the Heroes of the Faith in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. I think, too, it means knowing all the great Biblical stories. It should include having the Ten Commandments committed to memory. They should know the Twelve Disciples and about John the Baptist. Children should know the story of Jesus' birth and why He had to come to earth. And, they should know about Jesus' death on the Cross, why He died and how He rose from the dead.


A house is only as solid as the foundation that supports it. The same is true of a home and the strength of a church is largely dependent on how solid its families are. Well grounded kids can only be raised by parents who are well-grounded in the faith, as well.


Let's raise Christ-like kids that are well-grounded in Biblical truth!