“Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation” (Joel 1:3)

In this simple way, by God's grace, a living testimony for truth is kept alive - saints entrust their personal witness, and the covenant they have with Christ, to their children, and these again, to their children. This is our first duty. It includes prayers at the dining table, family devotions in the living room, and bedtime prayers in the bedroom. But the  best teaching is when the parents provides a consistent example of Christ. Church attendance is not enough. Children of all ages learn by consistent, godly living, more than memorization of Scripture.

Sinners need to be told about Christ, by all means, but the family comes first. Woe to the missionary that reaches the lost at the expense of his family. To teach our children is our first duty; we can’t delegate it to Sunday School teachers, or other ministries. These can help, but they don’t relieve us of our sacred obligation. Mothers and fathers must “train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

It’s a pleasant duty to share Christ with our sons and daughters, and even more so, when we know we’ll spend eternity with them in heaven. Many saints credit a praying parent for their success in life … how much better, if they succeed in eternity!