Today and Into the Next Generation

Deuteronomy 6

            Two concerns dominate Deuteronomy 6. First is covenant loyalty. The Israelites are to remember the Lord their God, to love Him with heart, soul, and strength, to honor Him in all things. In practice, Israel did this by reciting verses 4-5 morning and evening. These verses, called the Shema, from the Hebrew for “hear,” were their creed, their confession of faith, and their prayer.

            We Christians are a Gospel people. We are not bound by the laws of Moses, and we have tremendous freedom. But I sometimes wonder about some things. For instance, Jews recite the Shema twice a day (at least they used) and Muslims pray various set prayers five times a day. I wonder if Christians would benefit from a more structured approach to prayer. Our Catechism actually does quite a nice job with a brief order of morning prayer (Apostles’ Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Morning Prayer, and reflection on the 10 Commandments), meal prayers (Lord’s Prayer and a meal prayer before eating, and Lord’s Prayer and a prayer of thanksgiving after eating), and a brief order of evening prayer (Apostles’ Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Evening Prayer) before going to bed. I worry sometimes that our emphasis on praying “from the heart,” “just talking to God,” actually hurts our discipline of prayer. I wonder if we’d do better with some structure and order and learning some set prayers.

            Anyway, Israel had their confession, their Shema, their constant reminder of who their God was and what they owed to Him. Jesus Himself identified verse 5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” as the first and greatest commandment.

            The second thing that dominates this chapter is the concern for the next generation. I have a sign on the wall of my office. It’s one of my ministry guidelines, one of the fundamental things I try to always keep before me: “The best gift we can give a child is a spiritually thriving parent.” There is no more critical role a parent plays than forming the faith of their children. My sister is fond of saying, “A child should not remember the first time they came to church.” By that, she means that church should be so much a part of the child’s life that it’s just normal; it’s what they’ve always done. Add to that dedicated prayer time as I outlined above. Add to that reading children’s Bibles along with Dr. Seuss. Add to that age-appropriate Bibles as they grow up. (I’ve become a big fan of The Action Bible, the Bible in graphic novel form, for early readers, and the NIrV, a simplified Bible, for maturing readers.) Add to that parents who talk about the week’s sermon or Sunday school lesson at home. That’s what Moses is getting at when he says, “Impress them on your children. Talk about them at home and on the road. Tie them to your hands and foreheads.” In this way, the next generation receives the gifts of God and learns to value them, too.