If we don’t sow God’s seeds in children’s hearts, the devil will eagerly sow his weeds there.
Deuteronomy 11:18-32 revisits the importance of obedience to the Word of God. “Therefore you shall lay up these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul” (v 18). Not only so, but God’s people have a responsibility to effectively communicate His desires to the next generation. “You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (v 19). It seems that many of the present generation of parents are not doing this in the West. According to the Barna Group, “Nearly two-thirds of U.S. 18- to 29-year-olds who grew up in church tell Barna they have withdrawn from church involvement as an adult after having been active as a child or teen.” But you will notice that the Lord’s emphasis to parents is not simply “church attendance.” He is not encouraging mere information transfer in a congregational setting, but living out the truth with our families in daily life. It is to be the topic of discussion for dinner time, relaxation time, bedtime, and rise-and-shine time. And why is this so important? Because life comes down to one of only two conclusions: “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God” (vv 26-28). This two-choices-only approach would be graphically illustrated when they entered the Promised Land. There they were to gather, a million or so on Mount Ebal and a million or so on Mount Gerizim: “you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal” (v 29). The choice is the same today. Simple obedience brings such blessing.