Knees Bent

Once upon a time, a young boy named Jace fell in love with basketball (he still thinks it’s the best sport ever invented). He spent hours and hours shooting a little rubber ball on his Little Tikes hoop in the basement, imitating the players he saw on TV, and making himself the hero of every game. When he became old enough to play organized basketball at the local YMCA, his father volunteered to coach the team. One of the first lessons his father taught this kindergarten team was the importance of having your knees bent anytime you’re on the court. “Every single basketball action requires bending your knees first,” his father would say. “If you’re going to shoot a jump-shot, make a pass, or grab a rebound, your knees are going to be bent. So why not be ready and always have your knees bent?”

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In the craziness of life, it’s easy to get confused about what’s most important when raising the next generation to follow Jesus. So then, what should we prioritize when bringing up young disciples?

Several months ago, a study was done by LifeWay Research on 2,000 Christian families whose children were grown and out of the house. The study first determined whether or not the children had retained their faith into adulthood. Then, it researched the things that were most impactful in producing these lifelong followers of Christ. You can read more about this study and the results HERE.

The study found the top five factors that were most frequently found in kids who retained their faith into adulthood:

1. Child regularly read his/her Bible

2. Child regularly spent time in prayer

3. Child regularly served in church

4. Child listened primarily to Christian music

5. Child participated in church mission trips and projects

It is important to keep in mind that this is not a checklist. It is not guaranteed that if a child does all five of these things they will retain their faith for a lifetime, and if they do not do all five of them they are not necessarily destined for a life of sin and anguish. Additionally, this list is not exhaustive. There are other important pieces of a healthy childhood.

But please notice that things like “child had perfect parents, ate vegetables at every meal, and was the best-behaved student" are not on the list. "Child lived with both biological parents and attended the best schools" did not crack the top five. Those things might be important and helpful, yes. But these things made the top five because they are the basis for so many other things. When a child studies God's word, communicates with him, loves others through service, fills their head with godly words, and sacrifices time and energy for the gospel, other things will fall into place. When you bend your knees first, then you can go steal a pass. When our kids have a good foundation, then they can go change the world.

We have a short time with our kids. Let's focus on what's important and start with our knees bent.