Remember Where Our Hope Comes From

In our home we love The Jesus Storybook Bible. Almost every story brings me to tears. The tagline of this children’s Bible is, “Every story whispers his name.” That is such an important piece of the biblical narrative that I didn’t really understand until much later than early childhood, but my six-year-old gets it!

I want my kids, even at ages four and six, to begin to feel the weight of the long-awaited Jesus — that He came to earth as a baby, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay for our sin, and is now alive and seated at the right hand of God.

The gospel message is so simple that even my little kids can understand it. If we but believe the truth found in the pages of our Bible, as little children, we will be reminded of the hope we have in Christ.

As a family, we have three things we do to remember from where our hope comes.

First, we remember why we celebrate the holidays. During every major season on the Christian calendar, we ask our kids, “Why do we really celebrate this holiday?” They are learning more about each holiday every year. And the reminders of why we celebrate are never wasted on us either. Easter, Advent, and Christmas are all fun. But why do we celebrate? Jesus!

Second, we read the Bible and memorize Bible thoughts. Bible stories take root in our children’s hearts, and for us as adults those roots are strengthened and grow deeper. When we repeat the words of Bible thoughts, biblical truth begins to sink in and take up residence in their little hearts. It’s wonderful to see them get excited about knowing God’s Word. Along the way, the words fill our hearts as well.

Third, we pray together. My four-year-old still wants to repeat after us sometimes, but she’s starting to ask for prayer requests and pray on her own. My six-year-old is starting to put a little more of his own thought into the prayers and interjecting his own ideas about certain topics. Their desire to talk to Jesus is growing and seeing them exercise the discipline of prayer is so sweet. As adults, we are drawn closer to the Lord when we pray, and He is faithful to remind us of our hope in Him.

We strive each day to keep our hearts set on things above, where Christ is, seated next to God. Our hope in Christ comes from knowing and believing every story in the Bible, every whisper of His name: Jesus, the one true Son of the living God.

Pray:

Lord, lead us to remember and embrace the hope we have in You. Be with us as we share our lives with our families, the preschoolers in our classrooms, and the ones You place in our path. Allow us to share the hope we have in You. Amen.