Mis·take (noun) – an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong.
We all fall short of God’s standard, so we will, at times, make mistakes, be wrong and fail. Jesus was confronted in Matthew with a question. A logical question that made sense, but Jesus first responded by telling them they had made a MISTAKE in their asking. Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.” The mistake was not the question. The mistake was that they did not know the Word of God.
How much of our struggles in the world stem from simply not KNOWING and then APPLYING the Word of God? If you want children who can navigate through the days ahead with success, they need to avoid this mistake. They need to be lovers of the Word and have a deep value for its truth. In the days ahead, when you encounter issues with your child (hitting, lying, rudeness, lack of self-control, etc.), together search for what the Bible says on these topics. For older children, ask them to come up with three Scriptures on the topic. Let their understanding be shaped by what He has to say on the matter. Get in the habit of searching and looking for the answer IN HIS WORD.
For a week, commit to meeting at the end of the day and picking one topic that affected your day as a family. Search the Word for what He has to say about it.