Few days ago, my son and I were swimming in the adult pool before he went to the children's pool at the furthest end to play with a 5-year old boy.
When he came back, he shared with me that he just played with a 5-year old boy because the latter requested.
I often take the opportunity to practise hearing God's voice. So I said to him, "Don't tell me his name. I will ask Jesus."
He replied, "Okay! (Excitedly)"
I paused, and said, "I see the letter J... James."
He answered, "Correct!"
And we had a teachable moment right at the pool where God showed Himself real to my son over and over again.
Living and demonstrating His presence as a lifestyle in front of our child creates an environment where he realises that God is real and is not bound to the four walls of a church. God is not found in a religious activity, a Sunday school or a corporate setting. He is found wanting to engage with us in our daily living. He is more relevant than mere Sundays and mid-weeks.
Recently, we were asked if my son would like to join his friend for a church camp. We declined and said, "If it's a secular camp, we would be glad to send him there with your kid, because it is easy to separate what the world teaches and what the Kingdom teaches."
"But if it's a Christian camp, we would be very careful, because we do not know what it teaches, for religion that teaches half truths would make a child confused and it is hard to unlearn what he has absorbed as a young child."
It took many years for me to unlearn religion and re-learn the Kingdom, so we would not want to put J into that kind of environment.
Christian environment does not mean that it is always good. On the other hand, secular environment does not mean that it is always bad. I believe that the key is to know how to bring God in clarity into our child's environment.
P.S: Yeah we are a weird family. That's why we chose homeschooling and made decisions that are in the minority.
#fathering101
