How can I teach my kids about God when I don't know much about the Bible?

Many of us feel that our own lack of understanding, or the fact that we struggle with our own spiritual life and relationship with God, will prevent us from successfully teaching our kids about God. Surprisingly, the opposite may be true.

Let me illustrate with a well known old Testament story of Exodus from Egypt. The Israelites who left Egypt under Moses were anything but the perfect picture of strong faith and spiritual understanding. They were stiffnecked (stubborn) and ended up wandering around in the wilderness for forty years because they had trouble trusting God and doing things his way.

But, and this is what's surprising, their children grew up to be one of the most outstanding examples of a generation of Israelites who got it right. They successfully took the Promised Land. They consistently followed God and his principles and for the most part enjoyed successful lives.

Their kids, on the other hand, the third generation, went right back to being like the generation that left Egypt. The stubborn, stiffnecked Israelites raised a generation of kids who got it right, and the generation that got it right raised kids who messed up royally.

When I first saw this piece of history I found it confusing. It would seem logical that parents who know, trust, and follow God would have kids who do the same, while parents who don't would have children who don't. What's the explanation? It's the stubborn, stiffnecked Israelites didn't stay that way. The story shows that they began to learn and to grow and to change. Although they often got it wrong, they were continually moving in the right direction, and their children saw the results of bad choices and the results of good choices. Those children grew up seeing their parents struggle and grow with God.

But when they themselves grew up, they got comfortable in their relationship with GOd and failed to teach their children about him, probably assuming that understanding would happen automatically.

The encouragement in this story is that perhaps the best way for us to teach our children about God and followship his ways is to grow with them. Sometimes we think that in order to teach our children spiritual things we need to be perfect. But our children live with us; they know we're far from perfect! And even if we're doing well, we should never stop growing. As we trust God to change and lead us, we can share with our children what we learned and how we learned it, and they can grow with us.

If, as you read this, you find yourself in the position of that first generation of Israelites, talk to God and ask him to help you learn and grow and to give you the wisdom to help your children do the same, alongside you.