Creating a Spiritual Legacy

It’s clear from Scripture that parents are responsible for their children’s spiritual upbringing (Ephesians 6:4). But how? Our first step should be to make it a priority. We need to be in earnest. The amount of information bombarding our children each day is astronomical. A Gallup survey of adolescents found US teens spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on social media.1 This includes YouTube, where children are consuming more content than ever before. Even homeschoolers are encountering secular ideas more regularly than biblical ones. As a result, secular ideas are continually infiltrating their minds.

Most people develop a worldview subconsciously over time from different sources of input. Because of the sheer quantity of secular information inundating our children’s lives daily, if we’re not intentionally building a spiritual legacy, our children will likely develop a syncretistic (blended) worldview by default.

To avoid this danger, I encourage homeschooling families to strategically incorporate Bible study into their education. Here are some suggested strategies for building a spiritual legacy through your homeschooling.

1. Start your days with devotions/Bible study. Use this time to praise God, read his Word, and pray with your children. Prioritizing devotions sends the message that God should be first in our lives. Showering the Lord with our praise helps children learn God’s many laudable attributes and develop the habit of rejoicing in him each morning. I encourage parents to go directly to the Bible. A disadvantage of canned devotionals is that they don’t necessarily teach children to dive right into God’s Word and appreciate it for the treasure that it is.

2. Include Bible in your curriculum. Just like math, if we don’t study the Bible in a comprehensive program, the result is often a lot of holes in our understanding. A structured program ensures Bible coverage is thorough. A comprehensive curriculum will include church history, canon of Scripture, doctrine, hermeneutical principles, and apologetics—crucial topics to withstanding attacks on the Bible, developing sound doctrine, and having a proper approach to Scripture. A good Bible curriculum enables a child to develop a healthy worldview of everything, including the Bible itself—that it’s the inerrant Word of God. Students will also become equipped with proper scriptural interpretation skills, which is another safeguard against compromise.

3. Found every subject on the Bible. Doing so will afford your students the chance to reflect with amazement at our Creator’s marvelous design for life in science, math, and language; recognize his sovereignty in history; and enjoy the beauty of his creativity in art and music. When discussing current events, draw upon the Bible to interpret the times. Take time to refer to God’s wonderous attributes throughout the day as you elevate God in praise and thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).

One of the best aspects of homeschooling is that the lines between learning and living are blurred. It cultivates a mindset of learning—an approach to life that says we never stop marveling at God’s handiwork and exploring our Father’s world wherever we go. When we live in continual reflection on our glorious Savior, we’re not only setting a tone for our children’s education, but we’re also encouraging them to know him personally and to enjoy and glorify him each day—practices that will be handed down in a spiritual legacy for tomorrow.

In-Person Opportunities

Help your children develop a biblical worldview of science by attending the STEM challenge or one of the science programs and camps at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter.