The Good Book
Recently we were asked: why is the Bible–and what we believe about the Bible–important to parenting?
“[F]rom infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:15-17
Because the Bible is God’s word to us, it is worthy of our attention. It is the foundation for what we believe to be true about God, and therefore it is foundational for what we believe about ourselves. As parents, we have a unique opportunity to shape the faith of the next generation–to help them to see God, and to help them see themselves as God sees them. Parenting is discipleship and we have more access to our disciples than is true of any other mentor-mentee relationship.
To fully trust the Bible in this important job, we must first trust that it is in fact the word of God. Otherwise, it is merely another book on the shelf and lacks ultimate authority, which is needed to establish a true authority structure in the life of a child. To point to God as the ultimate authority, we must be also able to read and interpret Scripture correctly and effectively. In discipling a child, we rely on Scripture for all we need for godliness; Scripture not only has all we need personally, it has all our children need. If our theology is off, our daily interactions will be as well, as will the example we are setting. It is difficult to imagine a scenario where more is at stake by our example than in the home. Recognizing this important opportunity, the Relay Exchange mission statement is to equip women to lead girls to the truth of their redeemed identity in Christ, freeing them to pursue God, his plans and his ways. In short, our goal is to equip and encourage mothers to effectively pass the baton of faith to the next generation.
To do this effectively, mothers must know clearly what we believe about Scripture and why. It can be difficult to pass along information you know well; it is impossible to pass along information you do not possess yourself. It is even more difficult when it is your example, rather than your words, that does most of the talking. We need to know that Scripture is the word of God, that it is true, that it is authoritative, that it is enough and that it is worthy of preservation, and we need to know it so thoroughly that it seeps from our pores. We need to know for ourselves so that we can effectively apply it. Scripture is the ultimate user manual. While it does not contain answers to every specific question that may arise in parenting, the general principles it teaches are crucial. For example, in Scripture we learn to trust God with our children as we learn that he is trustworthy. We learn how to lead our children; we learn how to follow Jesus. We learn what healthy relationships look like and how to communicate effectively, with and without words. We learn the importance of reliance and rest.
We can be certain that in parenting, there will be challenges and sometimes, heartbreak. This is true regardless of our actions, regardless of our intentions and regardless of how well we parent. There are no guarantees. This is why what we believe about Scripture is so important: we do not follow Scripture because it guarantees particular results, we follow Scripture because it is the word of God, because it is true, because it is authoritative, because it is sufficient, and because it is worthy of our attention.