Why teach the Bible to children

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The Bible is a very reliable book, teaching not only morals and good ways of living but also showing the way to live this sort of life. As humans we fail and are weak at doing what is right and we readily make many mistakes through life. The Bible has been described as a light for our path and a lamp to our feet (see Psalm 119:105). It is also a very radical book as it centres round Jesus Christ (even in the Old Testament) who asked his followers to take up their cross and follow Him. Nothing less than 100% is asked of us as Christians. It can even be used to speak to the heart of a person as God’s Holy Spirit breathes in and through it to speak to us humans individually. So, the importance of the Bible cannot be ignore or underestimated by children and the adults that teach them.

I strongly believe that many of our children’s mental health issues centre around the fact that they have not got God in their lives or even the teaching about Him. With all the technical development of IT and all its gadgets, this current generation of children especially here in the UK have no clue who God is and what He is about let alone what He has done through history. The Bible clearly states that as we honour Him, He will honour us and as we and the children we know are taught what the Bible says, their self worth and value can be upgraded as God showers His love on them through the words of the Bible, e.g “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3) “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) What a gift from God that is. The Bible can be considered as a love letter from God to us humans and as children grasp this, they can relax in who they are. As they believe that what God says in the Bible is true, then they can come into true balance in every way.

The Bible has been known to change lives radically. The early Christians had their lives turned upside down. Paul hated Christians yet one word from God changed everything for him (see Acts 9) and he became quite the opposite. Men like Isaac Newton, once a slave trader, only had to realise that the Bible was true to be convinced that Jesus holds the key to changed lives. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) – so says the powerful word of God and it happens to all who come to Christ whatever they have done and whatever age they are. As our children study the Bible, they will see and come to realise that in its pages are wonderful ways presented to them of following God and by His word (the Bible) they can do great exploits for Him even as the early Christians experienced. Life is indeed a huge adventure but with God at the helm of a young life with all the energy of youth, much can be done to present God’s love and power to their peers.
The Bible has been described as an anchor that keeps the boat steady especially in times of difficulty and crisis which we all go through. Children, of course, are affected by these things and they need stability and solidness in order to keep sane. The Bible provides this assurance. ‘Read the Bible, pray everyday’ is a song we used to sing even as teenagers. The simplicity of these words can provide what children need in this ever changing world they have come to live in.

Read a Children’s Bible with a child and see the huge impact it can have on their life and to supplement the account of the early chapters of Genesis try ‘The Creation Series’ of Diamond Books that illustrates the grandeur of all that God has made and in essence done for us people and little people.