Family devotions with a twist

by Derrick Mueller

We as a family have always tried to have our family Bible time with our supper. It is the one meal when we are all home. Because my wife and I have four children ranging in age from 4 to 14, this can present a distinct challenge. We want to make devotions simple enough so that the four-year-old can understand, interesting enough to captivate the rambunctious seven-year-old, creative enough to involve our special needs 12-year-old and intellectual enough to engage our above-average teenager.

One evening, I picked up one of the many devotional books we have, part of a series that puts the whole Bible into 365 stories.

We had just finished our spaghetti and salad, the dishes had been cleared, and, as is our usual habit, we got set to have our devotions during the interval between supper and dessert. (With dessert still to come, keeping everyone for devotions is never a problem.)

As I searched for our Bible story, the chant of "Day 98" could be heard in the background. (We had decided that when we got to Day 100, we would all go to a restaurant and have a special dessert called "Just about everything".)

I found the right story and began to read. As I read, I explained how the Philistines picked up arms and were driven to the plains, where they were defeated by the Israelites.

Now, at first glance this may make sense, but to a child's mind, the story is riddled with confusion. As I read, my wife and oldest son began to giggle. Their arms spread out, and they began to imitate an airplane. Meanwhile, my daughter was confused: "What will they do with the arms?" she asked. Jesse was sure that they had no cars in those days so he couldn't understand how the Philistines were to be driven. By this point, my own thoughts conjured up images of the Israelites "de feeting" their enemies.

So, what's the point? Simply that family devotions can be fun and that Bible stories can conjure up different mental images in different age groups. As a family, we have an opportunity to learn together, and family devotions have become a highlight in our home. It is not necessarily bad to have our children think of devotions as something that comes after the main course which provides the nourishment we need for living. On the other hand, they may think of Bible time as something that comes before dessert, something to look forward to that is sweet to the soul.

Derrick Mueller is an instructor at Bethany Bible Institute in Hepburn, Sask.

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