Driving home from church, my nine-year-old son was so excited to tell me he’d memorized a Scripture that day in Sunday School class. “Your word is like a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105,” he proudly proclaimed.

“That’s awesome, buddy! Do you know what it means?”

“Um, no, not really…”

Teaching Kids Faith

This moment, for me, was just another reminder that I am the primary person responsible for teaching my kids faith. This is not limited to an hour on Sundays in a full group. This is as we’re driving along. It’s as we’re walking together. It’s as we sit down at the dinner table or as I tuck him in at night. The book of Deuteronomy encourages this very thing. And God felt this principle to be so important, He said it twice in the book of Deuteronomy! (6:7 and 11:19)

Teaching kids faith doesn’t necessarily need to be a sermon or special time set aside. It’s something that can happen in your daily interactions.

Bridging the Disconnect

Back to the Scripture and my son… I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer for wisdom in how to teach this, and instantly God brought to mind a perfect opportunity.

Last week, I was driving him to basketball practice at a nursing home with a gym. When you turn into the driveway, it’s unlit, lined with massive trees and, truthfully, a little creepy. There aren’t a lot of outdoor lights guiding the path up to the gym either.

“Hey, son. Remember when we went to practice and it was really dark and kind of creepy?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

“Well, how did we see to know if we were on the road or staying on the path?”

“Headlights on the car and the flashlight on your phone.”

“Yep. We used a light for our path and for our feet.”

“Hey, yeah! I get it! We needed light so we could see where we were going! And even though you can’t open a Bible and see actual light, it tells you what you need to know. Right, Mom?”

Understanding Faith

Yes, my boy. Yes.

We went on to talk a little more about this. We talked about how the Bible is God’s word. We talked about the answers God can give us, whether through reading Scripture, or praying and asking for guidance. We talked about trying to listen for what God tells our hearts.

Explaining to him, and hearing him understand, that God is faithful to give guidance through these tools whenever we have a problem or a question was such a sweet moment for me.

If your child is memorizing Scripture, relate it to a setting, a person, an event or a place they can grasp. Bring the bigness of God’s word to the understanding of their open minds.

No, they won’t understand everything. Neither do we. Who can fathom His ways?

But we can give feet to our faith. We can make it real.

So when your child is exploring stories in the Bible, be it Jesus or Paul, Noah or Adam, try to find examples in your own lives of when God has done something for you or how a mistake was made and forgiven.

God is nothing if not relatable. After all, He’s our Daddy!