Our school theme this year is challenging
us to walk humbly (Micah 6:8). How do you enable a young child to understand
what this could possibly mean?
A story comes to mind. My nephew, then less
than two years old and youngest of three, was keen to follow the pattern of his
older siblings in reciting a prayer spoken before a family meal. The prayer is:
“God is good, God is great
Let
us thank Him for our food.
By his hands, we are fed,
Thank-you Lord, for daily bread. Amen”
Unable to say or understand the words
spoken by his siblings, his exuberant version went as follows:
God is great, God is great!
God is great, God is great!
God is great, God is great!
God is great, God is great! Amen!
That two year old is going to get married soon
and has big dreams of working for God’s kingdom. It is obvious the seeds of
faith have taken hold. Praise God for this!
So, how do you instruct children to walk
humbly, seek justice, and show mercy? It starts with recognizing just how much
we need the Lord, for daily bread and for salvation, and how enormous God’s
blessings are – even in the small things. It strikes me that cultivating
faithfulness begins with young children connecting with structures that gently,
but deliberately, guide them to recognize that God made them, God loves them,
and God knows them “by name.” (Isa. 43:1) What a rich blessing that those
patterns of faithfulness in even the smallest of things can start at home and
continue here at LCES. Praise God for Christian education; may it bear fruit in
the lives of our children!
SJ
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