A truism that floats around in church circles is that "85 percent of all people who accept Christ do so before the age of 18." I don't know if there is really support for this. I am sure that it's a pretty high number. In one survey I found, when people were asked to identify those who had influenced them in their decision for Christ, people raised in Christian home identified their parents as one of the most important influences 80% of the time. 

The book of Deuteronomy was written from the perspective of the children of Israel standing to the east of the Promised Land and receiving instructions from Moses about how to live in this new land that God had promised them. Moses is telling the parents and   grandparents that it is their responsibility to instill faith in their children. As the parents and grandparents tell their children and grandchildren stories of God's faithfulness throughout the forty years wandering in the wilderness, their children will continue in their faith in God.

Will our children have faith? It is not our children's responsibility to get it on their own. We, their parents and grandparents, can and must help to instill faith in them.

So, how do we do that? Here are some ways:

• Share our faith with them. How did we come to faith? 
• Read Bible stories to them. Get a Bible story book.
• Pray with your children. Both mother and father.
• Bring them to Sunday School. We form children in the faith.
• Attend Adult Sunday School class yourself, or a Bible study.

If you'll notice, every suggestion necessarily involves parental and grandparent involvement. Why? Years ago I read an article on the secret to having children feel secure. The researchers began the survey thinking that the best way for children to feel secure would be for them to have parents who tell them regularly how much the father or mother loved their child. They were surprised to discover that children feel most secure when they know that their parents love each other and see them display affection in front of their children. Wow! Children model what they see in their parents. Therefore, they will model the faith their parents display. What an amazing insight. And it goes all the way back to over 3,400 years ago!