DAY 4: 2 TIMOTHY 3:10-17
TEACHING OUR CHILDREN
Read 2 Timothy 3:13-15.
When were you first exposed to the Scriptures? I still remember going to catechism classes in my pre-K years, sitting in what I remember a room with tall, concrete walls with rows of tables like one might see in an elementary school lunchroom. I think we must have been in the basement, because I vaguely recall narrow windows along the tops of the walls. In later years, I remember taking turns reading the Bible verses, frightened that I might make a fool of myself. No criticism intended, but I don’t recall ever doing crafts. What I remember most, believe it or not, is actually learning the Bible. I still remember being taught that Jesus Christ died for my sins even in first grade. In Jr. High and into High School, I lost interest in the Bible, but the teaching I had learned as a child stayed with me. To this day, I see those formative years in Bible class as crucial to my faith and salvation as an adult.
Who did Timothy learn from? No doubt Paul is referring to his mother, Eunice, and probably to Paul himself among other teachers. They opened Timothy’s mind and made him wise to the truth in later years. We must not underestimate the power of the Bible on the lives of children. It begins in the home. It is supported and reinforced in the classrooms of church. Teaching our children at an early age lays the foundation for one’s recognition and reception of Christ in time. If you are a parent or a teacher, or if you simply work with kids, your instruction of Christ through word and deed is the water of life for them.
To consider: If you are a parent, how much time are you spending with your children reading and learning from the Scriptures? If you are not a parent, consider if God is calling you to minister within the church to children who need to learn the all important word of God.
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Questions for Home Groups
1) When were you first exposed to the Bible? What impact do you think it had on your faith today?
2) Paul says in v. 14, “continue in the things you have learned… knowing from whom you have learned them.” What might this say about the relationship between a student and his or her teacher? How does that relationship affect a student’s retention and subsequent adherence to the material being taught? Can you think of examples both positive and negative that affected your faith?
