Be Diligent- Stir them up!

I was reading in my Bible a few mornings ago, and I came to a passage that encouraged me to recommit myself to grounding my children in the Truth. I was reading 2 Peter 1:12-15. This is Peter writing to believers. He was concerned with the growing presence of false teachers. (and don't you think we can relate to that in this day and age!) As I read, it dawned on me that I need to be just as Peter was in this passage. He was referring to the relationship between other believers and himself. I am reading it in terms of my children and myself. Think about the parent/child relationship as you read these few verses:

"12Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. 13I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus has made clear to me. 15And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind"

Peter said he would always be ready to remind these believers of the truth/ I should always make myself available to my children to teach them the truth when I see an opportunity

"even though you already know them"- These people already knew the truth- but that didn't give Peter a reason to stop./ Just because we have taught them once, doesn't mean it is firmly grounded in their lives.

As long as Peter was on this earth, he was determined to always be stirring up the believers to remind them the truths they had already learned. Knowing that one day he would die, he wanted to be diligent in teaching them God's ways for life so that when he did leave this earth, the believers (your children) would still be able to call them to mind.

I want to do this! I want to be diligent in constantly reminding my family (stirring them up) about the Truth and the right way to live (check out 2 Peter 1:5 for a recipe on the right way to live.) So that when I die, they can stand firmly on their own in this world we live in, as a light shining in the darkness, glorifying Christ with their lives! Now, that is leaving a legacy!

Kari

I think one wonderful way to "stir them up" is to give them real life examples of how Christ would want them to act. I think a wonderful tool for this is the If and When Flashcards that the Boyers have used with their own children. One side of the card presents a temptation or a question your child might face, and the other side of the card gives the solution- an applicable verse from God's word! It wouldn't be a bad idea for us parents to memorize these cards ourselves!