A while back, I was wondering what more I could do to help my kids develop into their potential as adults. I was looking for another way I could share with them more of what God has taught me about the gospel and the scriptures, and I thought a good way of doing that would be to show them how asking questions was the next layer on the foundation of scripture reading and familiarity. I thought about what extra skills could be learned through this, from research to note-taking to essay writing.
I decided I would experiment with having them spend their Sunday mornings between daily chores and lunch finding the answer to a question they cared about, then writing up an essay explaining the question and answer as they would to a stranger. I figured that spending a few hours each week thinking and writing, let alone about the most important things, would yield immense dividends for their lives.
The initial work for us as parents was not negligible. Their questions were awful, so I had to spend time helping them learn how to formulate better questions. They needed to be watched like hawks to keep them on task, as they had no experience spending a few hours in unbroken research. There was plenty of pushback from them, and plenty of wincing from us as we had to read plenty of terrible essays. But, we kept at it, giving feedback and keeping them on task. The showcase is every Sunday right after dinner. It provides a great window for comments, questions, and follow-up discussion from all members of the family.
As time went on, the results became better and our inputs reduced. After several months, we adjusted to having just one of them "do questions" each Sunday, and the others could read and study whatever they wanted when it wasn't their turn. We knew they could use the skills they had developed with the more rigid approach while experimenting with greater flexibility. We also started keeping a list of questions that have already been asked so we don't have to sit through repeats. At some point, I realized we were wasting another opportunity and switched from me reading the essays aloud on Sundays to the writer reading them, so now they get practice on public speaking as well, and our energy commitment as parents is further reduced.
Our youngest still needs oversight, but the parental input has dropped to almost nothing. Here's a sampling of the fruits, which is my 10 year old's essay from yesterday. This is 100% kid produced, with no proofing or help from me or my wife. You can probably imagine the places I might give feedback, but I was pretty happy with this output from a 10 year old.
I strongly encourage you to regularly ask yourself, "what more can I do to help my kids develop into their potential?"
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Why was Jesus known as the lamb?
In the Bible, Jesus called himself and was called the ‘lamb’ multiple times. In John, John called out to Jesus as he walked past: And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ (John 1:36) Why was he called this, and what symbolic reference does it have? We all know Jesus was sent from heaven for a test. He passed the test, which was commit no sins during his life, and commit the ultimate sacrifice; Taking responsibility for the worlds sins. Jesus allowed them to kill him, and. He will come to this earth one more time at the end of the world, where he will judge the people on this planet. (See Revelation) Anyway, why was he called the ‘Lamb of God’? In John 1:29, John said: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John knew Jesus would sacrifice himself, and that was why he said it. Later, whenever Jesus went to Jeruselum, he was in danger of being killed. He went there anyway, for he knew when it was his time he would be killed. And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, ‘The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again.’ And they were exceeding sorry. (Matthew 17:22-23) When he died, he was placed in a tomb. However, he was ressurected and the only sign of his death were holes in his hands from the nails they hammered into him.
In those days, Lambs were used as sacrifices for the peoples sins. They’d chop their heads off, and that would atone for them as the lamb would die instead of them. Jesus was the lamb for the world, and he would die for them all.
In conclusion, Jesus was a lamb. He was innocent and loyal. He would die for everyone else, while they killed him. He never did a thing wrong in his life, yet they hated him for him being better than them.