Relocating To Elfland

Scenario #1 [in a Christian home near you]: After a family dinner in which all present have been noisily discussing vacation plans, the father pulls his Bible off the shelf and reads a chapter to his family, interspersing one or two comments. The atmosphere in the room is instantly changed: the mother listens politely, without response; the children stare off into space, visibly waiting for this to be over, and answer their father’s occasional questions in bored monosyllables.

Scenario #2 [in the same home, at the same meal]: After closing in prayer, the father asks, “What did you all think of Iron Man 2?” The room fairly explodes with breathless responses (including extended quotations and reenactments), which carry on for the next thirty minutes.

So here’s my question: What has happened in this Christian home (and a thousand others like it), that the Word of the Lord of heaven and earth is treated not even with respect, let alone genuine interest, while a silly popcorn flick can carry the conversation for hours?

To be clear, I am not saying our response to the Word of God should resemble the way we react to a popcorn flick. Family worship shouldn’t look like movie night, any more than a Shakespeare reading should look like movie night. But something is wrong, surely, when those in a Christian household “check out” at the opening of the scriptures.

Few things are more discouraging to me as a pastor than seeing this household issue writ large in the church community. Sometimes I ask myself: What would it take to see fathers speak to their families in worship, with every member on the edge of his or her seat? What would it take to see discussions of Sabbath sermons in which every participant, young and old, is intently engaged? What would it take for God’s people to be so “into” the thought-world of their scriptures that they prefer to speak of its teachings, histories, promises, and precepts rather than the latest cheap entertainment? Warfront soldiers do not tolerate news of battle plans and progress; they long for any word that will give them encouragement, direction, and help in the struggle at hand. Yet to observe the soldiers of Christ in many homes and churches, one would think they are soldiers on holiday, who want nothing less than to hear anything about the realities of war.

In fairness, it may be that the father in our scenarios has never done the hard work of engaging the minds, hearts, and imaginations of his household. They may be bored because he is boring; and they imagine, then, that God and His kingdom are boring. Or he may be a hypocrite, full of pious words while living a pagan life, and they see right through it. And certainly a word must be said about personality: there are strong silent types who will never say much in response to the Word – but I have known big burly quiet types whose silence conceals a burning heart, and who stand ready in the moment of battle to do mighty exploits for their King.

“He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Ps 78:5–8).

I know of no more urgent task in the modern church than to recover and execute this mandate. O God! make us faithful to it.