This morning during Sunday school we were talking around the table about our marriages and our children and the impact the marriage has on the kids. One of the men commented on how important it was to model the Christian life and specifically a good relationship with your spouse. He is right.
We tend to make fun of mimics; there is a whole genre of comedy that is comprised of those who imitate the voice and mannerisms of others. However we are commanded in scripture to mimic those in the faith. The Greek word is mimetes it turns up in 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Ephesians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14; and Hebrews 6:12. In all cases but the Ephesians passage, it is used in an exhortation to imitate the faith of men who follow Christ. So this notion of modeling for our kids has Biblical, strong Biblical support. They do notice…
In the workshops on leading your children in the Word that I have done, one of the last things we do is have whichever of my sons is available join us. During that section the men pepper them with questions about what we have done as a family in terms of grounding them in the Word. I have learned a lot from these sessions. Several times they were asked why they would want to study the Bible with me. In every case my sons answered because they knew, they saw, me doing Bible study all of the time and knew that I could show them how. I modeled for them a heart for the Word and they have all, including my daughter, have picked that up not only from me, but from the example of my wife as well. There are other things I have modeled that they have picked up that are not as positive, my impatience with traffic leaps to mind. The point is, they are paying attention. Modeling is part of the process that God has ordained as a means of transmitting life from generation to generation.
We tend to make fun of mimics; there is a whole genre of comedy that is comprised of those who imitate the voice and mannerisms of others. However we are commanded in scripture to mimic those in the faith. The Greek word is mimetes it turns up in 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Ephesians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14; and Hebrews 6:12. In all cases but the Ephesians passage, it is used in an exhortation to imitate the faith of men who follow Christ. So this notion of modeling for our kids has Biblical, strong Biblical support. They do notice…
In the workshops on leading your children in the Word that I have done, one of the last things we do is have whichever of my sons is available join us. During that section the men pepper them with questions about what we have done as a family in terms of grounding them in the Word. I have learned a lot from these sessions. Several times they were asked why they would want to study the Bible with me. In every case my sons answered because they knew, they saw, me doing Bible study all of the time and knew that I could show them how. I modeled for them a heart for the Word and they have all, including my daughter, have picked that up not only from me, but from the example of my wife as well. There are other things I have modeled that they have picked up that are not as positive, my impatience with traffic leaps to mind. The point is, they are paying attention. Modeling is part of the process that God has ordained as a means of transmitting life from generation to generation.
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