Show and Tell

Today I’m using a writing term to convey a message. All writers must learn the difference between show and tell and when to use each one. I’m using my husband and me and our families to illustrate my point.

See, each of us thought we were good Christians. We’d sung in our church choirs since we were first married. I’d been singing in church since the age of three. J joined a friend who supplied the music for a prison ministry. J often played his guitar or the piano as they sang and shared God’s Word. We’d both been baptized, and we thought we were okay.

We’ve talked about this many times lately. How did we not know the things we truly needed to know? The things that would make a difference in our lives and the lives of our children?

CHRISTIAN PARENTS

We were both reared by Christian parents. I’d never question that they knew Jesus as their Lord and Savior, ever. Neither would my husband. But there was so much they should have taught us, done with us that was never done. And these things are generational. We made the same mistakes with our own children.

Daddy was rarely without his Bible or his The Upper Room devotional book. But here’s the thing. Daddy never shared what he learned with us. Oh, we prayed over meals. The typical, God is great kind of prayer. But where was the real food?  God’s Word? Sustenance for our souls?

Now, I don’t want my sisters-in-law to take offense at my words, but J tells me his family was much the same. He doesn’t remember them sharing God’s Word with him and his sisters, either. He often attended church alone. His parents’ work hours were crazy back in his formative years. So, it’s no wonder.

My family attended church together unless Mama was sick or in the hospital. (She suffered from debilitating asthma and ultimately died from an attack.) But when all was well, we were at church every time the doors were open. I probably attended more revivals than most of my peers.

Hubby and I knew the words to many, many hymns, but we didn’t have an intimate relationship with the One about whom they were written. Neither of us blames our parents. They likely did what they were taught and in the same manner.

As a consequence, we expected our church, wherever we were, to undertake the religious education of our children. Oh, how we lament how badly we failed them!

NOT THE CHURCH’S JOB

Show and Tell @DDuPreeWilliams #faith #writing #church Share on X

It isn’t up to the church to teach your children. That is your job. If you haven’t gotten on your knees before Abba with your children beside you, my friends, what are you waiting for? You will never get those years back and if you don’t teach them, you can be sure the world will. And I know you know as well as I that the world is not the entity to be teaching our children anything relating to God. The world doesn’t know who He is. They certainly don’t want to know the name of Jesus. If you don’t teach them, they could stand and deny ever having known God.

Friends, don’t be afraid of what your children will think of you. Share God’s Word with them. Pray in front of them. Pray for and over them. Teach them from God’s Word. Go to church with them, yes, but don’t rely on them to learn the truth there unless you are in a Bible-teaching church. You know whether or not your church is. If you are in a church that teaches that you gain heaven by good works, then you are in the wrong church. (Read Ephesian 2:8-9).

We lament the years we spent in a denomination that cared more about other things than they did truly preaching the Word—that cared more about what the world thought than what God thinks, what God says.

If you’re in such a church, please consider finding one in which the Bible is taught and the Bible is used to explain the Bible.

SHOW AND TELL

Here’s the good news. It isn’t too late. Pray for your children every day. Ask Jesus to intercede with the Father. Ask Him to soften their hearts as He did for so many in the scriptures. Don’t leave your children to the whims of this world. Show and tell them what a personal relationship with Jesus looks like. Bring them into The Shepherd’s fold so that when they hear His voice, they will recognize it. (Read Proverbs 22:6). I’ve prayed daily for years, Father, give them ears to hear and call them by name.

Remember, it is never, ever too late to start.

Blessings, y’all!

 

I realize this was a heavy message today. This is what God laid on my heart as I came in to write this week’s post. Someone out there needs to see this. Maybe it was simply for me. I don’t know. Every time I sit to write, I ask God what message He wants me to convey. I put my trust in Him. This journey begins with reading your Bible, from beginning to end, to learn the single story told within its pages. It is one continuous story that begins with the creation of all things and ends with the second coming of Christ. How can you share God’s Word if you don’t know it? Start today. Dive in—come and see! If you need help with this, please reach out to me. I’ve learned so much from our mistakes.