Dear Saints,

We just concluded another week of Vacation Bible School, a beloved summer tradition stretching back generations. Many parents dropped their kids off with fond memories of - and a touch of nostalgia for - their own VBS adventures. I’m deeply appreciative of everyone who made this year another great success!

Every once in a while, it’s worth thinking through why we invest so much of our collective time and energy into transmitting the faith to our children. Is it like handing on the family’s passionate allegiance to its favorite sports team? Maybe it’s more like sharing our trademarked lasagna recipe that we spent years perfecting. Or perhaps it’s akin to teaching them life’s need-to-know nuggets of wisdom we’ve picked up along the way.

I would say yes - all of the above, plus something more. We share the faith with our children because it’s who we are: because we invest so much of ourselves into it, and because it has served us well and allows us to serve others well. Sharing the good stuff of life is just part of what you do when you love someone.

But more fundamentally, love is about willing the good of the other for the sake of the other, and the best thing we can ever give kids for their own sake is a relationship with Jesus. Of all the pearls we pass on to our children, none will ever be more valuable than that.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ