Trained in Truth – Casting Crumbs

Years ago, when training someone to work at a bank, the new employee would be given stacks of bills to practice counting and sorting. Over and over, large stacks of bills are placed in their hands. They count through them and then another stack…

and then another stack…

…until one day they stop mid-stack. Something did not feel right. Did they miss a bill? Were two stuck together? What was different? Back through the stack. Wait. There it was again. Something was wrong. That inconsistency was a counterfeit bill hidden in a pile of authentic bills, that would easily be undetected to the eye. However, having touched thousands of real bills the teller has become so in tuned with what a real bill feels like that the slight difference in paper stirs their senses and they just know that something is Not. Quite. Right. They have handled the truth so many times that when something slips into their awareness that is not quite truth, they feel the difference.

This is how Good Lookin’ and I decided to train our children to walk in this world. Jesus is the truth. We have taught them Jesus. We have them read his Word, talk with Him, read His Word, read His Word… and then one day something comes across their life that just feels different and their spidey senses start tingling! They come home from school and bring their question up at dinner. We all engage to compare this new idea with Jesus. I love the conversations that unfold as the wrestling begins. The idea is similar so it should be fine, but a sibling throws out a counter example and another finds a scripture. It is a lively and wonderful way to watch our children lean on the truth and seek it for their answers!

We knew very early that we are not trained in apologetics and do not have all the answers. So we pondered how to prepare our children for ALL the ideas that our children would be facing. Evolution vs Creation, all paths lead to heaven, abortion, same sex attraction, lying, drinking, skipping school, cheating… this list is endless. There is no possible way to head off all these topics before they encounter them. But knowing the truth can. It grounds them. It allows them to openly engage in conversations with confidence, love and grace. It opens their eyes to how broken our world is while seeing how great God’s love for us is. Truth is freeing! Ahh.

We don’t have to be perfect parents, because God’s truth will light our children’s way.