On this Mother's Day, I remember how my mother read scripture to my sisters and me every day as we were growing up. Then as we learned to read she would assign us to read from Bible Story books and give us tests on what we had read. Deuteronomy 6: 5 - 9 reads: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
The focus of these words which Jesus quoted on worship move from personal worship to family worship. At first the focus is on God's Word and words. We are challenged to build our families on and around the Word of God. Of course along with God speaking to us from His Word is our speaking to Him through prayer as a family around the table, family gatherings, etc. You can only grow to love in a relationship through two-way communication.
Worship should be the soundtrack of our homes. Not just listening to Christian music in the home but singing should be a natural expression of worship in our homes. Christians are a singing people. Psalm 118:15 states, "Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous." Singing is a very beneficial activity for families. Even grandparents can contribute. It is a wonderful thing to hear your grandchildren singing, years later, what you sang with them as young children; truths which continue to enrich their lives in the Lord.
Matthew Henry once said, "They that pray in the family do well; they that pray and read the scriptures do better; but they that pray, and read, and sing do best of all." From the time our children were preschoolers, I began to compose simple scripture songs for them. We were amazed that they learned large portions of scripture by singing it to a simple tune. May our homes be a doxology of worship. Happy Mothers Day! mjm
