Why should we be diligent in discipling our children? Although it seems like a question with an obvious answer, we must understand that it has been one of the greatest challenges for believers in Jesus throughout history. This is because in the first generation of converts within a family, there is such a strong rejection of sin due to their lived experience that they do not need many details to reject what the world offers. Embracing Christianity responsibly is often easier for them because they clearly see the demarcation between the holiness of their new life and the worldly secularism. However, for the second generation (the children of believers), this rejection of what the world offers comes by reference, which limits them compared to their predecessors in seeing the Way clearly and following it. In most cases, the sinfulness of the world becomes a kind of “forbidden fruit” that everyone wants to taste.

It is more than clear how important repentance has been for any believer, but when someone who has been born into the church faces this issue, the question most ask is: “What do I need to repent of if I have grown up in a blessed home doing everything that pleases God?” If this question and its implications are not understood, first by the parents and by all those who are discipling them, the precise answer for this new generation will be meaningless to them.

It must be understood and taught to them that anything that appears in their journey and leads them away from God’s will and purpose, especially after having learned through their parents what it means to walk in His shadow and shelter, is sin and requires repentance.

Alongside this, it must be understood that the world has its own herald to reach and influence that generation: the current educational system, whose influence on them is almost impossible to emulate. And please, let me make an observation: This includes Christian schools as well. Faced with this reality, some may be alarmed. Without questioning whether a school is Christian or not, which can indeed be the case, it must be understood that under today’s legislated standards, every educational institution must teach or prioritize subjects that the system deems useful for the education of the new generations. And if worse still, this system has humanistic values dictated by atheism and paganism, then the new generations will grow under a powerful influence of that negative impact.

God, who has never been oblivious to this reality, gave the church from ancient times the resource to educate children to grow in faith. And if they have to receive that secular influence, then they should also have the resources learned at home and supported by the community of faith brothers to help counteract or filter what the world distills upon them. This educational method based on the life cycle, extending from pregnancy itself (through various segments of life in those early stages) to puberty, was called in the cultural context born under biblical influence Benei Mitzvá, meaning ‘children of the commandment’. Therefore, you will find on our website the DIC-DAC discipleship (en.wayupcoop.com) that extends from early childhood education to advanced instruction in serving God.

Author: Dr. Liber Aguiar.