By Shelly Burke
(The posts for the A to Z Blogging Challenge will focus on teaching
kids lessons from selected Bible verses. Adapt your teaching to the age of the
kids you’re talking with.)
Moses
told the people, ”For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard
for you…The Word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so
that you can do it.” Deuteronomy 30:11, 14
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Begin by asking your kids, What are some hard things you’ve done? Answers might be, study for
a test, practice for a sporting event, help dad build a playhouse, choose
classes, choose a college, etc. Lead the conversation toward loving others. Is
it hard (at times) to love siblings?
Discuss the
background of these verses with your children: Moses has led the Israelites
in the desert for 40 years, and is now near the end of his life. Here he is
reviewing God’s covenant with the people. The commandment he is referring to is
the summary of all of the commandments: Love
the Lord your God with all your heart. (If you’d like, review all of the
Ten Commandments, found in Deuteronomy 5:7-21.)
Ask, What does it mean to love the Lord with all
your heart? It means, of course, to put him above everything, to put
what He would want you to do, above what you want to do. Jesus added the second
part of “Love the Lord your God with all
your heart” in Mark 12:30 “And love
your neighbor as yourself.”
So to show love to the Lord with all your heart, you must
love your neighbor, too. This might not seem hard—after all, we generally get
along with our neighbors. But a “neighbor” is anyone you are near. It includes
siblings, parents, teachers, classmates; even when they tease you, pick a
fight, are mean, assign lots of homework, and so on. This can be very hard!
But God reassures us:
It is not too hard for you…The Word
is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
The Word is, of course, the Bible. Throughout the Bible God gives
instructions to love Him and love and forgive our neighbor (over and over
again!). We cannot do it on our own, but with His help we can.
What does God mean when He says The Word is…in your mouth and in your heart? We need
to know His word, so it’s in our
heart and comes immediately to mind—and to our mouth—when we need to be
reminded about loving God and loving our neighbor.
Give your kids these
examples: For example, if you are tempted to say something that is false,
or something that is not nice (which would not
be loving your neighbor as yourself), remember Proverbs 13:3, which says, “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his
life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”
If you are tempted to disobey your parents, remember that
you are commanded to “Honor your father
and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)
Finish by reinforcing
the importance of reading and studying the Bible: As you read and study the
Bible, you will learn more of these commands and principles and they will begin
to come to your mind automatically when you need them. And remember to pray to
God to help you to love your neighbor (sister, brother, classmate, parent, and
so on). He will give you the strength to act and react as you should—rather than
as you want to.
Remember: with God’s help, you can do hard things.
Dear God, please help me to honor You by
loving You with all of my heart. I also want to love those around me, but I
cannot do it without Your help. Please help me to want to read and learn Your
Word so that I have it in my heart and in my mouth when I need it. Thank You!
Amen.
Shelly Burke is
the author of the book “Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to
Caring for Herself, Her Family and Her Home.” To see the table of contents
click on the tab at the top of this page. To order, see the right sidebar.
Shelly is also the publisher of a Christian monthly newspaper, the Nebraska
Family Times. Click on www.nebraskafamilytimes.blogspot.com for more
information.
