Let's Make A Deal

Have you ever watched “Let’s Make A Deal” and witnessed the apprehension and anxiety involved as the contestants select their “prize?” The reason for the dilemma? The participants know that the wrong choice lands them with a ridiculous gag gift rather than a fabulous prize. It is important to select well, but there is absolutely no way of knowing how to do that. And the crowd cheers wildly, as if they know the best choice.

This time of year brings a plethora of Facebook photos of kids on their first day of school with comments from parents about how quickly their little one has grown up. In the blink of an eye they are teenagers, standing on the stage of life, trying to choose their “prize” while listening to a host of voices telling them what to choose. Except in this game the stakes are high and their decisions can change the course of their lives. But there is good news… in this game there is a handbook that gives the information they need to select wisely.

As parents and people of influence in the lives of our children, we must come to the place where we stop hoping for the best as our kids grow into adulthood and start putting every effort into showing them the source of all wisdom. Taking them to church is good. Buying them a Bible is good. Teaching good moral values is good. Teaching them to be respectful and responsible… good. But someday they will be onstage and there will be voices shouting from the audience and trying to convince them to choose what is behind the “wrong” curtain. We have to give them a foundation of truth to stand on. That Truth is found in one place. The Word of God.

How do you make God’s Word an integral part of their life? You can start by making it an integral part of your life. Get into the Word. Discover the truth and the grace that is woven throughout the pages. Eventually it will begin to live within you and you will find yourself speaking the truth that you are learning. It will begin to direct your conversations, your decisions, your attitudes. You will begin to understand what once seemed foreign. You will begin to seek answers to the things that you don’t understand. You will be shaped by what you find in the pages of scripture and it will be apparent to your children that there is something transformative about the Word of God.

When the world is screaming all kinds of options at your kids, I pray that you will have demonstrated for them where to go to find the wisdom they need to make the right decisions. I have never met anyone who found the discipline of Bible Study easy or fun in the beginning. But I have met plenty who wish they would have started sooner because they now see the extreme value in hiding God’s Word in their heart.

Let’s make a deal… pick up your Bible every day and begin reading Matthew. As you read, write down questions and observations. When you finish the book of Matthew, go to Mark, then Luke and John. If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up, just get back at it. When you finish the Gospels… those first four books of the New Testament, let me know. There will be a prize…for real! It may take some of you a few weeks and others a few months. Maybe longer. Just do it! Your kids need to see you treating God’s Word like it matters to you if you expect it to ever matter to them.