Imparting Truth in Love

‘Teach me your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. For great is your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol’ (Psalm 86:11, 13).

A survey was done in the U.S. among youth who claimed to be Born again in Evangelical churches. They were asked if there is truth or an absolute moral standard by which they lead their lives. The question they were posed with was, ‘is the Bible the infallible word of God and true in every situation?’

In 1991 – 52 percent of those interviewed said there is no truth.

In 1994 - 62 percent of those interviewed said there is no truth.

In 1999 - 78 percent of those interviewed said there is no truth.

Now over 91 percent of them say there is no truth or absolute moral standard.

These amazing facts should cause every Christian to feel uneasy and wake up to these challenges of our time. In Josh McDowell’s book ‘The Last Christian generation’, he emphasizes the fact that if the church in U.S.A does not do something different, it may become the last Christian generation. If over 90 percent of born again youth in U.S. churches today, do not see the Bible as the absolute moral standard, by which they should lead their lives, then what is the future of the Church?

The question that arises is, how best can the Church pass on truth to the next generation? The Christian faith is based on truth. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of truth. In John 14:6 He clearly says ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’. In John 8:32 he also says, ‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’. In Psalm 86:11, David cried out unto God, ‘Teach me your way, O LORD; I will walk in your truth; Unite my heart to fear your name’. The next two verses explain why David was ready to walk in the truth and was so passionate about knowing the ways of God through His word. In verse thirteen he says, ‘For great is your mercy (Love) toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol’.

The lesson here is that, truth taught is best received when the student is assured of the love of the teacher. For Parents to be able to pass on Christ or truth to their children, they should have a healthy relationship with their kids. Their kids should be confident of the love of their parents. It is a generally accepted fact that the first 5 years of a child’s life are considered the most important for child development and the bonding with parents. This bond that parents create with their children should be maintained and developed through the other stages of their children’s growth through healthy relationships. Without this bond and a healthy relationship based on love and trust, children will always walk away from the truth that their parents attempt to teach them. The sad reality is that most parents today especially fathers, spend most of their time outside their homes so that healthy relationship and bond with their children is missing.

As a parent you are supposed to be your children’s primary mentor. Mentorship depends on love, respect, trust and admiration. The lives and future of your kids are being molded by your character. Their character will be formed more after your deeds than your words. As a man you are teaching your sons how to marry a wife by the way you treat your wife, as a woman you are also teaching your daughters how to marry a husband by the way you treat your husband. Paul the Apostle admonishes that we teach ‘the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children (Titus 2:2-4). (Quotes are made from ‘The vital role of Fathering’ - Josh McDowell)