I read the Bible to my 1-year-old. Yes, I read her the cutesy picture book Bible stories where cartoon Noah sings campfire songs with a variety of animal couples, but I also read her our daily gospel readings out of our handy Matthew books.
She has yet to share with me her thoughts on the profundity of Jesus lifting up the lowly in the Beatitudes or how crazy it is that Jesus allows the demons to negotiate with him in today’s Bible reading (in case you haven’t caught it yet). But I continue to read it to her anyway.
While I’ve been known to do pointless things (I line up my M&Ms in matching color pairs in my hand before I eat them – I know they all taste the same), I actually don’t think reading the Bible to her is pointless – THOUGH I KNOW SHE DOESN’T UNDERSTAND!
Children are sponges. We hear it all the time. But my pediatrician tells me over and over that my baby understands far more than she can communicate. So, the question is, what do I want this little sponge soaking up?
I read my baby the Bible because I want the words of Scripture to be her earliest memories – whenever those start. Whether she’s playing, or squirming, or chasing the dog, if she’s going to soak something in, I’m going to make sure it’s something that will shape her for a lifetime.
Do you have creative ways of helping your kids soak up Scripture?
Munger Kids 