What is your child's greatest need? As parent's we spend countless hours anticipating and meeting our children's needs from checking for fevers to putting on band-aids; from filling hungry bellies to teaching them to look both ways; from providing them clothes to wear to giving them books to read; from reminding them to share to teaching them to pick up their toys. But of all the needs we anticipate, look for, and meet, what is the greatest?
I would argue that our children's greatest need is to know their Maker God and to be restored back into right relationship with him through his Son, Jesus Christ.
As parents, we are given the responsibility to teach and train our children in the Lord. We are tasked with passing on to them the truths of who he is and what he has done. We are to instruct our children in the word of God, impressing it upon their hearts, when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up (Deuteronomy 6:7).
This is a huge and very important task yet one that is often neglected or passed off to Christian schools and Sunday school teachers. Simply reading Bible stories to our children at bedtime is not enough. Our children need Biblical instruction. They need to know what God's word teaches about who God is, who they are, and what God has done. They need to know the Bible and they need to know theology.
That's the premise of Starr Meade's new book, Give Them Truth. She writes, "Our children cannot apply Scripture without knowing what it says. They cannot love Christ without knowing who he is. They can't obey God without knowing what he has commanded. And they will not know these things if we do not provide deliberate, thorough, rigorous instruction, just as we would do for subjects like math or grammar" (p.25).
Give Them Truth spurs parents on to teach our children the foundational doctrines of the faith. The purpose is not for mere head knowledge. It's not to make them win every game of Bible Trivia. The purpose is so that our children will be prepared for the storms of life. Knowing God's word gives them an anchor to cling to when life is uncertain, frightening, and out of control. Meade writes, "I contend that a robust theology, a strong, well-connected belief system, is the most helpful thing we can give our children to prepare them for the suffering they will inevitably face as they live in a world spoiled by sin." (p. 37)
The book is divided into three sections. The first section's main premise is that too many children in Christian families do not know the Bible or what it teaches. The next section goes into specific teachings and doctrines children need to know such as the doctrine of God, his incommunicable attributes, the Trinity, doctrine of man, sin, salvation through Christ, and the Church. The final section covers specifics on how to go about teaching children what they need to know in God's word and discusses applying the Trivium model of education to Biblical learning. The end of the book includes a helpful list of resources, books, studies, and catechisms.
This well laid out book contains helpful summaries throughout each chapter, highlighting the key points. Though not exhaustive, Give Them Truth provides the foundational truths we need to teach our children. It is readable and not too heady for parents who are not as familiar with theology and theological terms. Over and over, Meade goes back to the point that our children need to know these things to prepare them for the hard challenges and trials of life they will face at some point in their lives. And all of this instruction is given with the knowledge that it is the Spirit who regenerates dead hearts and makes them alive to Christ. "The task of parent and teacher is to provide the truth to which the heart will respond. We pile up doctrinal truth in the minds of our children, and we eagerly await the Holy Spirit who alone can cause that truth to give life. But the truth needs to be there!" (p. 194)
Our family has used many of Starr Meade's books in our devotional and instructional time with our children. We've loved every book we've used and this one is no exception. In fact, it won't be long before my copy of Give Them Truth is dog-eared and worn. I highly recommend this book to every parent, grandparent, and Children's ministry worker.
I am giving away one copy of this book. Enter below. US residents only please. Update: Rachel P. is the winner. Congrats, Rachel!
Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my review. The thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links.
