Back Rubs, the Shema and Loving God

One of my favorite things to do is to tuck my kids in at bedtime. It's a wonderful way to get uninterrupted time with each of them at the end of the day. I listen to their stories, answer their questions, rub their backs, and pray with them.

A couple nights ago when I rubbing Emily's back, she asked me to write a word on her back so she could guess what I was writing. This is a game she made up. I drew each letter on her little back: L-O-V-E. After she correctly guessed the word, I told her I chose that word for 2 reasons. First was because I'm always going to love her no matter what. Second was because of what Jesus said was the most important thing. I told her about these verses:

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
— MARK 12:28-31 —

It seemed to really click with her, and I was happy to have had a good discipleship moment with her. I then went to tuck in my son, Elijah, and repeated the same word game and Bible verse with him. Together we came up with some hand motions for heart, soul, mind and strength. I love these special, God-centered moments with my family.

I tell these things to my kids, because I want them to know what is most important in life. I pray that I will live out the reality of the Greatest Commandment if front of them so that they will have a working model of what it means to love God with all their energy. This is what they were created for: to passionately love God and love others. This is our purpose. This is my heart's cry both as a parent and a pastor.

“Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free…If we understand our first and sole duty to consist of loving God supremely and loving everyone, even our enemies, for God’s dear sake, then we can enjoy spiritual tranquility under every circumstance.”
— A.W. TOZER —
1897-1963

Interestingly, when Jesus answers His critics in the above passage, He does so by quoting from the Shema — the most important Bible passage to any Old Testament Jew (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Included in those verses is a command to teach your children "when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise" (vs 7). Did you catch that? Parents are supposed to instruct their kids in the love of God all the time, including when you get under the covers at the end of the day.

Here's to many more disciple-making bedtime chats...and back rubs.