Scripture in the Family Room
By Matthew Barrett –
“Daddy, I want you to read me the Bible.” These are the words that I hear at about 8:30am when my three year old daughter Cassandra and I sit down for a bowl of our favorite cereal. I wish I could say that this breakfast tradition originated out of the depths of my heart where I felt a deep conviction to lead my family in worship every morning. It did not. In fact, it was not me, but Cassandra who recognized the obvious: “Dad is reading his Bible while he eats breakfast. Why doesn’t he read it aloud so I can hear too?” The entire situation was a blow to my perceived spiritual maturity. Yes, it took my three year old daughter to remind me that I should be taking time to lead my family in the reading of God’s Word.
Too often we merely view God’s Word as something we hear from the pulpit on a Sunday or read in our own personal quiet time with the Lord. However, if the infiltration of God’s Word stops there we have not gone far enough. God’s Word also must be feasted upon in the context of the family household.
The centrality of God’s Word in the family is not a new truth of the Christian faith. Scripture often teaches the necessity of God’s Word for the household. One of the most pressing passages in this regard is Deuteronomy 6:1-9. Speaking of the commandments of the Lord, Moses says, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut 6:5-7). The law was to be taught to children, and diligently so. How often? All of the time. When you sit in your house, when you go for a walk, when you lay down to sleep, and when you get up for another day. Israel was to be a people whose households were characterized by, centered around, and consumed with God’s revelation to them. So too for us, the Word of God must be front and center in the family room, that the Spirit might work on a daily basis through the Word to change the hearts of children and parents.
Perhaps one of the best ways God’s Word can be dusted off the family room bookshelf is through the practice of family worship, a practice the Puritans perfected. In family worship the Puritan father led his family in prayer, the singing of hymns, the reading of Scripture, and instruction in Scripture.
My daughter Cassandra has not yet trusted in Christ. However, taking her advice to read the Bible while we eat Fruit-Loops is a fundamental step in laying before her the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps one day, while we are indulging once again in our breakfast tradition, the Spirit will work in Cassandra’s heart by means of the Word of God, as he did with Lydia in Acts 16:14, to trust in Christ our Savior.
Matthew Barrett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett has contributed book reviews and articles to various academic journals. He is married to Elizabeth and they have two daughters, Cassandra and Georgia. He is a member of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.
Did you enjoy this article? Read others like it in the October issue of Credo Magazine, “The Living Word.”
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