Its Never Too Early

It is never too early to start studying God's Word with your children. I realized that this afternoon after I spent some time in the Bible with Maggie my 5 year old. It began as a deal between the two of us. Maggie's friend got her own Bible for her baptism. Of course when Maggie saw her friend's new Bible, she wanted one. She was insistent or should I say nagging about it until finally I made a deal with her. I told her that if everyday for the next 2 weeks she would come and read the Bible with me during the first 15 minutes of Caillou (one of her favorite shows) we would get her a Bible (and a new pink Bible cover....sigh). If today is any indication of her faithfulness and enthusiasm, she will get a Bible by the weekend. I could hardly hold back my excitement as she asked questions and reasoned through what we were reading. It was so much fun especially since my own passion is studying His Word. I decided to read through the first chapter of the book of John. That was already the book I was thinking but this morning at breakfast confirmed it. Maggie and Wil were discussing whether or not Jesus existed before Abraham. Wil and Maggie struggle with grasping the fact that Jesus existed before Mary actually gave birth to him. Anyway I thought the book of John would be a great place to start for us.
I started out by explaining to her about a quiet time. I said, "When momma says she is going to have a quiet time with the LORD it means that I am going to spend time reading the Bible". I told her that momma always starts out with prayer asking God to open my mind so that He can speak to me what He wants me to know. Maggie and I prayed and then read the first several verses of John. At the end, I shared with her the importance of spending time with God in His Bible. I told her that in life when we are scared or hurting or confused that knowing God's Word will help us to be strong and not be afraid.
Honestly I did not expect much of a response from Maggie during this time, but praise God I think she really liked it. Actually just as I am typing this, she come in my room and said, "Can we do that again tomorrow?" III John 4 says, "I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth". Moms, there is no assurance that we can give them except God and His Truth.
Tomorrow her enthusiasm may not be what it was today, but I must press on knowing that the greatest way I can love my children is to give them my love and God's truth.