When my son points at the color blue and says, "BLUE!" people of the world praise him for knowing his colors. However, when my son says, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty..." people of the world do not praise him for knowing the Truth. They say children can't have faith and he is just repeating what he hears from his parents.
Just repeating what he hears from his parents.
Hmmm.
That statement is simultaneously 100% false and 100% true.
I will tell you why it is 100% false in a few simple sentences. Faith is received from God. I don't have the faith within myself to speak those words. My sons don't either. God gives the faith. So, he isn't repeating what he hears. He is speaking the words of faith given to him by his heavenly Father.
HOWEVER,
and that is an ALL CAPS HOWEVER, so pay attention here...
God does not just work willy-nilly through the world. He works through means. Through Word. Through His Church. Through pastors. Through parents.
Of course my son is just repeating what he hears from his parents. My goodness, everything the kid knows he learned from us. Well, maybe I shouldn't take responsibility for those really embarrassing things he says, but they probably came from us, too. Kids learn from their parents. "Hey, that color over there is blue. When you see that color, say 'BLUE!'"
My husband jokes about wanting to teach our kids something ridiculous and silly. "You know, they would believe us if we started calling a cow a cat. Let's do it. Wouldn't that be hilarious? Hey, is this cat's milk I am drinking? Did you know I have a pet cow who sits on my lap and purrs?"
No, dear husband, I will not let you do that, but yes, it would be pretty hilarious. Kids believe.
With that amount of child-like faith comes a huge responsibility. If only we spent the same amount of time teaching the real important Truths that we spend teaching the color and number truths or the cow and cat truths!
But the world says, "I don't want to indoctrinate my children. I will let them learn and figure out and explore on their own." NO! Stop telling kids they can call a cow a cat. It isn't a cat. That isn't the truth. Someday, someone is going to judge them because they don't know the difference. And when that day comes, someone will say, "Who taught this kid, anyway? Why wouldn't a parent who loves their child teach them the difference between cows and cats?" As a parent, stop making your kids responsible for figuring out what you choose not to teach them. Sure, some kids may grow up to decide they want to call a cow a cat. We can't decide for them at that point, but you don't start by letting them decide. You start by teaching.
Even if you, as a parent, are teaching your child this creed every single day -
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord..."
the world is still teaching them this creed even more fervently -
"I believe in Myself and my Money, maker of my happiness. And in the absence of all truth, our lord."
When my kids fall short, when they don't measure up to their bar set for happiness, when they don't quite get where they thought they were going, and when they fall on their faces, there needs to be Truth flowing through them.
Truth that flows from learning.
Truth that flows from their memory.
Truth that is given by God through the parents He gave them.
Truth that is "just repeating what he hears from his parents."
In the end, it won't matter if they call a cow a cat (unless, of course, they request their hamburger to be made of 100% cat...).
It will matter who they call Lord.
