Toddler Doctrine — planting seeds of the gospel

Spending my days with my little son is the best thing ever. When he’s not schooling me on John Deere tractors and a three-point hitch, I’m showing him the tree where his bucketful of acorns came from, telling him why the moon is “gone” during the day, and helping him to learn how to carefully turn the paper pages of library books. We may finally have learned not to spit at strangers just because you’re nervous (yes, for real), but we’re still learning to share toys, pick up toys, and only throw toys that are meant to be thrown. And…what good opportunities to teach gospel-based doctrine to our toddler.

At 2 years old, he is learning the ropes of life — he’s exploring God’s world and the way God set things up to “tick,” so to speak. My husband and I are asking God for wisdom to use this time in our son’s life to point him continually to Christ and plant the seeds of the gospel in his heart. We pray that, like Timothy from the Bible, our son would from childhood know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make him wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15). At this age, though, teaching our son the scriptures does not involve a lot of formal education.

So, what doctrines are we teaching our 2-year-old during these days filled with potty-training, mealtimes, and lots of play? Our prayer and goal is to teach him the gospel.

God Is Our Good Creator

God is the Creator and Lord of all. We tell our son when we go outside or look out the window that God made the world and everything in it.
“Wow, J! Look at that pretty flower God made!”
“Boy, I’m glad God gave us this pretty day.”
“You run so fast! God did such a good job when He made you.”

God Is in Charge

Our son will tell you that God says to obey mommy and daddy. Oftentimes, when I correct him for not obeying me, he’ll say in a resigned way, “Because of God?” I tell him, “Yes, because God is in charge and that’s what God says.”

This truth has been life-changing in our parenting choices: God is in charge, and God put mommy and daddy in charge of J. God has commanded J to obey his parents (Ephesians 6:1-3), so who are mommy and daddy to choose to make up different rules than God? Daddy, mommy, and J must all follow God’s plan — because God is in charge.

The Bible Is God’s Word

We often tell our son the “why,” even though he doesn’t ask us “why?” yet. When I tell him not to hit his friends or to share toys, I put the onus on God and the Bible. God in His word says to be kind. God says to obey mommy.

Sin and Forgiveness

I teach him God’s commands and what God expects. He fails. He is a sinner, and I tell him so; he’s a sinner just like his mommy.

I correct my little boy. I teach him to say he is sorry, and I also apologize to him, too, when I have wronged him. I tell him that he needs God’s help to please God. He needs Jesus to forgive His sin and to make him a “new-J.” I tell him that I forgive him, and it’s all better. And it is. Just as God does not keep our sin and failures hung over our heads, I don’t hang his sin and failure over him for the rest of the day. If his sin has longer-reaching consequences (such as, “No more playing with Thomas today since you threw him.”), then I enforce the consequences, but our relationship remains restored. Our fellowship and laughing and being funny and silly are back like before. I want him to understand that this is how God’s forgiveness works.

Prayer

J is learning to pray. I ask him to think of something he wants to thank God for, or I ask him if he wants to tell God something. His prayers usually go something like, “Thank you, God, for daddy. Amen!” (Then he announces, “We did it!” 🙂 ) I hope he is learning that we approach God any and all the time and also that God is the Giver of all the good gifts we receive — including (and especially) the gift of salvation.

Additional proactive ways we teach doctrine to our toddler:

• Bible Stories and Scripture Memorization — We have a miriad of Bible story books tucked in along with all of his other story books (see recommended resources below). He doesn’t always understand everything in every story, but he gets a lot. We can plant the seed and water the seed, and my husband and I keep asking God to grow the seed in His time.I also try to have J join me in memorizing scripture. I am teaching him a few specific ones to convey particular truths right now (Genesis 1:1; John 3:16; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 6:1…), but he also can “recite” scriptures that I am trying to burn into my own soul.
• Church and Sunday School — I can teach my son a Bible story or song, but, boy!, if he hears the same thing from Miss Sarah, his (very sweet and pretty 😉 ) Sunday school teacher, he sings it and talks about it all week. God has given us the gathering up of ourselves together for church to build up the body — and what a blessing J’s Sunday school teachers are in the seed-sowing and watering of his faith.

Our son does not yet know God. He knows a little about God, but he has not yet trusted in Jesus and received forgiveness for his sins. Our prayer is that J will trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and receive the gift of salvation and eternal life in Christ. I pray that then he will grow in his relationship with Christ. Until that time, though, I am praying that God will show us how to “set the stage” and lay a gospel-foundation for salvation through Bible truths which are able to make him wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

I so desire encouragement and advice from others in this area — we have only just begun this journey of raising our little tow-headed, blue-eyed boy. How do you (or how did you) plant the seeds of the gospel in the hearts and minds of your children? What resources or advice would you share with young mothers or others who work with and minister to our children?

Thanks, friends.. <3, amanda

 

Resources and Links

(Some links below are affiliate links, meaning that if you click through my links and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Thank you!)

Parenting Resources
Shepherding a Child’s Heart, by Tedd Tripp. This book is a must-have for Christian parents.

The Faithful Parent: A Biblical Guide to Raising a Family, by Martha Peace and Stuart W. Scott. Tedd Tripp calls this book a “timeless resource.” I agree…this book is an excellent and trustworthy guide to biblically-based parenting God’s way.

Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus, by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. I have grown in my own relationship with Christ while reading this amazing book.

Grace-Based Parenting, by Tim Kimmel. I read this one before my son was born, and it will continue to be an applicable and necessary book to re-read over the years.

Answering Your Kids’ Toughest Questions: Helping Them Understand Loss, Sin, Tragedies, and Other Hard Topics, by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. While this is a book that my toddler will only continue to “grow-in-to,” I have already consulted it multiple times as I think through explaining sin and current cultural and social issues to my little boy.

Bringing Up Boys, by Dr. James Dobson. This book is just a classic. My husband and I have laughed and cried as we identify with and learn from Dr. Dobson’s wisdom and practical advice about raising a son.

Toilet Training Without Tantrums, by John Rosemond. I bought this book simply for advice on potty-training my little boy (which is now most-of-the-time 😉 successful), but I came away with an excellent training myself in our approach to raising children. John Rosemond does not mince words, pretty much telling parents to go….well..be the parent.

Bible Story Books
The Big Picture Story Bible, by David R. Helm. This children’s Bible story book is AWESOME! Big pictures, just few enough words per page that my two-year-old can pay attention, and it even includes the whole book on cd — great for our car rides to visit grandparents.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Classic. Gospel-good-news. This is my go-to gift for baby showers or first birthday gifts. I cry when I read these Bible stories to my son because I am so grateful for the “big picture” of God’s scarlet thread of redemption. This Bible storybook is also available as a DVD series. When I need a few minutes on my own for Bible study and prayer, I let my little boy watch one of these DVDs: The Jesus Storybook Bible Animated DVD Set, Volumes 1-4, available through ChristianBook.com.

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago. This little devotion book is a compliation of 101 little truths on faith and God’s word. My little guy and I read one page from this book together most days before naptime.

Lift-the-Flap Bible Board Book, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. My little boy pours over this book, narrating Bible stories to me as he opens each flap (“Look, mommy! David threw the stone, and Goliath fell down!” or “Watch the angels sing because Jesus was born.”). This book was a great recent addition to our little family library.

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