Posted in Spiritual Life

My oldest son and I are reading the same book right now, though I am a little more than two chapters ahead of him at this point.  The book we are reading simultaniously (which I am finding very enjoyable and conducive to wonderful discussions) is The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp. 

In my own reading, I came across a quote I found especially relevant to what my family has experienced in recent weeks in our time of worship together each evening, and especially on Sundays within our little fellowship.  My husband and I were just discussing yesterday how much our children have taken in and grasped of God's Word since we began worshipping together as a family.  Even the younger ones have an understanding of the Scriptures and spiritual matters that is often not expected from young children.  And yet they, as well as the other children in our family-integrated fellowship, have risen to a new level of spiritual understanding in a very short time.  At the same time, we adults are being fed the Word in a way that has caused us to grow in our walk with the Lord as well.   The Scriptures are truly alive, and the Holy Spirit can use the Word of God to speak to each and every heart that is open to its message, no matter the age or maturity level.

Maria Trapp found this to be true in her own family as well:

"The reading of the Gospels together proved to be wonderful.  It proved to be the Book of Books, the only one in the whole world to which a four-year-old grl would listen with enraptured interest, while all the philosophers are not yet able to get to the bottom of its divine widom."

--Maria Augusta Trapp, from The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

A common misconception about family-integrated churches is that because we do not have "children's ministries", we do not minister to children.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Word of God and the Holy Spirit minister to children's hearts most effectively as they are guided in their spiritual walk by their parents.  This happens to a degree that cannot be achieved by a Sunday school class or youth group.  It is God's design for parents to lead their children in learning about spiritual matters.  Just as in homeschooling, parents are their own children's primary teachers and disciplers, so in family worship in the home and family-integrated corporate worship, parents oversee their own children's education in the things most important to all of life, the things of God.  The growth that comes as a result of loving discipleship and spiritual leadership in the home is a rare and wonderful blessing, one that will carry on to many generations to come.  The legacy of a love for the Word of God and a passion for serving and glorifying Him is the most important gift a parent can bestow on his or her children.