Giving the Gift of Language

This past Sunday, Pastor Paul asked the question “What does it look like to chase after God?” In sharing the story of the magi who traveled thousands of miles to experience the presence of God in the Christ-child, Pastor Paul pointed out seven actions of the magi that we can follow as we seek to chase God in 2021:

• observe God’s movement
• enter into the presence of God
• bow
• kneel 
• worship first and at all cost
• offer yourself
• obey God’s guidance

As I often do, I walked away from this message considering what it looks like not only to chase after God myself, but also to teach my girls to do the same. We are intentional about raising our girls in a faith-centered home, but it’s challenging and we’re not perfect. I’ve yet to find exactly the right book or podcast or speaker to give me the perfect road map or better yet the perfect words to help my girls, in their very limited experience and thankfully limited heartache, fully understand the magnitude of God’s goodness, mercy and grace. So I fumble my way along. Can you relate?

I want to teach my kids first to observe God’s movement. You might think that since they’ve been raised and active in the church, such observations would be natural for them. But I can tell with full disclosure that is simply not so. We used to ask the question at dinner “How did you see God today?” and we were answered with silence nearly every single time. We did an advent study in 2020 with great scripture readings and devotionals. The girls loved them, but when it came time to apply the reading…silence. And in frustration, I’m tempted to stop asking the questions. Where is the disconnect?

I think the answer is simple: language. It’s no mystery how children acquire language. They speak what they hear. From the time a child is born, parents are intentional to name every action and object to help that child communicate. We look at picture books and imitate animal noises. And we know that children are absolute sponges…to the point that we have to be careful about what we say because it will ultimately be repeated. We know this is true of language acquisition, but do we apply it to faith as well? Do our kids have that language of faith? Have we, as parents, given them the words?

You see, if I want my girls to be able to express how they see God move, I have to give them the words and the only way to do that is to express how I see God move. And it has to be as casual and as frequent as the way I would name objects when they were babies. Talking about God is not reserved for the dinner table or family devotion time. Talking about God is in the car on the way to school, in the line at the grocery store, watching the basketball game from the bleachers.

I’m ready to chase God in 2021 with more devotion than ever before. I want my girls to see it, to hear me talk about it, and to join me in the chase. Will you come along? What if this is the year that we spoke our observations of God out loud, even when it sounds awkward? What if this is the year that our kids learn the language of faith? What if this is the year that we build relationship, not religion, and we invite God into every moment, not just Sunday worship. 

Leave a note in the comments if you’re ready to join me and let’s see what stories we can share of God’s movement in our homes in 2021.