Fight Like a Mother: Teaching our Kids Why the Bible is True

My mom is an incredible mother and grandmother. But I'm about to tell you a story that might initially lend you to think otherwise...

Three weeks before I left home for college, my family of 7 went white water rafting. In our raft there were 9 people and 1 guide.  My siblings, parents, and I, plus a father-son duo. Before the somewhat perilous trip, the guide repeatedly informed us novice rafters of the importance of staying in the raft, even and especially when others may be thrown out. 

My mom took the truth to heart. 

Her and I, well... we tell this story quite differently. 

From my vantage point, the one kid in the raft that wasn't her kid was nearly hurled into the swirling waters and all the petrified young dude had to hold onto was someone's upper thighs. These thighs  - you guessed it- belonged to my mother. Well, Mom was not going in that water, she all but shook the 16 year old off her. 

The kid was fine. But my stomach hurt. Tremendously. From laughing.

Mom later defended herself by saying that she wasn't trying to get rid of the kid, but she just had an ultimate goal to stay in the raft to protect and be near her own five children. 

Most parents I know have a definitive, instinctual, impulse to fight for their kids. To protect, to advocate. We stick close, sometimes almost hovering to ensure the safety and provision of our beloved young. We use whatever tools we have to champion a good life for our offspring and protect them from danger.

And (in every generation) danger lurks. The wise mom is aware and proactive. The clever mama is shrewd and does research at the approaching threat.  She does not fear but is very intentional. A wise Mama learns and teaches her children the Truth.  The whole truth.

Christian mamas - we are in a battle. A battle of truth and lies. Light and darkness. Good and evil. 

And the evil one isn't messing around. He is playing for keeps. 

Mothers let us see the value in teaching our kids apologetics.

Apolo what? (Don't feel bad if you don't know what I'm talking about) Many people hear the word and they either don't know what it means, they want nothing to do with it or they believe it's solely for pastors and Bible scholars. 

Apologetics is simply a branch of theology(the study of God). It is giving positive reasons for why Christianity is true and it is a rational defense against the negative notions about the Bible.  

Understanding why the Bible is true is for all Christians. (Jude 1:3, 1 Peter 3:15).  For evangelism and encouragement. And it is becoming increasingly more imperative that we fill our minds on reasons why we can trust that the tomb was empty. 

Faith is not a leap in the dark. Faith should be based on what we have excellent reason to trust in.

There is a wealth of evidence for the truth of Christianity. Right at our fingertips. The farther in years we get away from the Resurrection, the more factual evidence that's uncovered.  Through History, Science and Archaeology.

This may all sound like stuff that isn't for kids. 

But let me tell you, I am consistently amazed by what children can understand. 

From my own boots on the ground research  - I have seen kids embrace that the gospels (first four books of the New Testaments Bible) are based on eye-witness testimony. That the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal that the Old Testament writers did predict the future (through the Holy Spirit). It also sure doesn't seem  hard for them to gather that it is an undeniable fact that  there was an actual man in History named  Jesus whom died by crucifixion. (Another OT prediction come true)

The world more and more is teaching our kids what to think rather than how to think for themselves. 

Mamas and Papas teach them how to think.

 Let me also contend that kids are craving truth, (actual truth not just based on their feelings) meaning and purpose. 

Seeking truth and Jesus is a journey. No one should journey alone. Learning deep truths, I believe comes more fully from a person that has demonstrated their love. Kids know that Moms aren't going anywhere. Moms, we also need a reminder that we are not alone. We have the Spirit of Jesus to guide them and us. There is nothing to fear but the Almighty Creator of the universe who loves our babies even more than we do. 

All children are born with free-will and they are going to decide for themselves if they want to make Jesus their Lord. But we must must must guide them. 

If you haven't figured it out, I'm quite passionate about the study of the truth of the Bible because for me it led to the realization that God is good. 

 That's really the ultimate question today.

Does God really know what's best for me? Does He love my kids and does His design lead to a flourishing life?

 Apologetics provided me with peace and confidence when asking these questions.

 It helped me to see that the Christian life is not about perfomance.  That we battle on our knees in prayer. That this life and the Bible is not about me. It's about Jesus. It's not about how good I think I am. It has and always will be about a personal relationship with the God of the Universe through Jesus. 

A part of fighting the battle - and giving reasons for why there is One, True, Living God -  is that teaching God's Word (the Bible) is the foundation of your home. (Deut. 6:7-9)

 Since I'm already being bold, let me also point out that there is a call to back up  our beliefs with our actions. If we love God, others see that in our life choices.

We serve and put others before us. We reach out to people who are very different, but also the same in that they are made in the image of God. There is one race. The human race.

God is love and we are God's and love is not self-seeking. Love does not follow our own hearts. But the heart of God. Love sacrifices and pursues the good of another. Love rejoices with the Truth.

Our kids are watching and our lifestyle will relay why it's true and we will inevitably portray a sort of Christendom that kids can't deny is beautiful and freeing.

When we forgive our spouse, when we reach out to the poor and the needy. When we speak boldly and kindly. When we open our home. When we pray for those who have hurt us. Anything and everything that seeks the good of another. Just like Jesus did.

We can't change hearts but we can certainly help to make God known. That is I believe - the highest calling for a parent. If our children know that they are loved by us then can't they see that the God of the Bible searches high and low to bring them home? That He is a God of family and purpose and belonging and love.  

I tell my kids regularly that they are free to worship and follow whomever but that I am a Christian not because it's "in the family" but because I firmly believe it is true. It's true that Jesus loves me and He is worth loving in return.

And good is defined in the character of God. The Bible explains the way the world is. I tell them in the good times and the bad times.

 It's a whole lot harder to walk away from something you know to be true.

Mama if it feels daunting just start somewhere. Learn alongside them. YouTube or podcasts while doing dishes. Read a book together and go out weekly for pancakes and discuss what sticks out. That's a lot of pancakes but seriously, it's important. And pray. Pray the Holy Spirit will use the evidence. Only the truth will set your children free.

I once sat through a funeral where an older pastor said:"I can't tell you why the Bible is true." Sitting there I was praying for the mother who was about to bury her 20- something -son who died as a result of a drug overdose. And it took everything within me not to stand up and shout: "But we can know! Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we can know! And you sir, with all due respect, should know and be able to show this grieving family the confidence we can grasp. Confidence in Heaven and passing from death to life and being in the presence of a Holy, loving God."

The spiritual battle is real. The evidence for the Bible is overwhelmingly compelling. Help them see how reasonable it is that they are loved. Loved by God, without a doubt, through Jesus' outstretched arms on the cross.  

If you read through the Bible with your children they will hopefully begin to see that God evidently desires to be near us. Just like our earthly moms. Only even more so. 

And I have tears in my eyes when I think of all my mother gave up to stay near to me, to teach me Truth.  Love you mama.

TEACHING RESOURCES

The best and easiest place I've found to start when deciphering if the Bible is true is to start with the Resurrection. To ignore details about the Resurrection is to ignore a large portion of History. Don't believe me? See Gary Habermas' 4 volume magnum opus on the Resurrection here.

I often repeat these phrases to my children:

1)Not all religions can be true(logically).

2)Science strongly suggests a Creator.

3)The Resurrection is History

4)There is unending evidence that the Bible is the Word of God. 

With the above framework you are helping them see that universalism is false and that actually - contrary to what our culture teaches - Science points to a Creator. Everything that is created has a beginning... From there you can help them eliminate worldviews that do not teach that the universe had a beginning (Buddhism and Hindhuism, New Age ideologies, atheism etc.) Then we look at the evidence for the empty tomb. And lastly, we uphold Truth by studying why the Bible is the written Word of God and should be our authority. 

Entire books have been written on each of the above phrases.

BOOKS and PODCASTS and YOUTUBE: 

Natasha Crain's parenting book Here.

Mama Bear Apologetics podcast and book

Sean McDowell https://www.youtube.com/@SeanMcDowell

Lee Strobel's new book is a must read.

My own youtube channel: In the Works

Crossexamined.org

Alisa Childers

Every Woman a Theologian