Live It Sincerely. Teach It Diligently.
“Before God commands parents to impress His words on their children, He first commands His people to love Him fully. That order matters. Love first. Teach next.”
There is a quiet pressure we moms carry deep in our hearts. We desire to raise children who love God wholeheartedly, and we wrestle with the tension of living it out while trying to teach them what it’s all about. We want to do both well, so that in our hearts and in our homes God is honored and His truth is treasured. Yet at times, we can focus so much on teaching our children about God that we neglect loving Him ourselves.
In Deuteronomy 6:5-7, God speaks clearly to His people: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Before God commands parents to impress His words on their children, He first commands His people to love Him fully. That order matters. Love first. Teach next.
As mothers, we cannot effectively pass down a faith we are not actively living ourselves. Our children may learn Bible stories from our words, but they will learn devotion from the way we live our lives. They notice what captures our attention, what calms our fears, what shapes our priorities, and what fills our conversations. A mother deeply in love with the Lord creates an atmosphere where faith is not merely another lesson to learn, but a way of life.
The beautiful thing about this passage is that teaching God’s ways is meant to overflow naturally from a heart already anchored in Him. Moses says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” Only after that does he say, “Impress them on your children.”
Faith was never intended to be compartmentalized into formal teaching moments alone. God’s design is relational and intentional, meant to be lived out daily. “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” In other words, let your love for God be reflected in what you do and say every single day.
Faith and devotion to God is more caught than taught. Children are impacted and shaped more by what we do than by what we say. If we want to pass down a legacy of loving God, we must simply love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Kids remember the times when prayer and worship were prioritized, Scripture was more than just memorized, and when mom messed up and then apologized. When loving and trusting God is visible in everyday rhythms, it becomes a rhythm that is repeated for generations to come.
Loving God with our whole being does not mean we do it flawlessly. It means He becomes our first love, our truest dependence, and our greatest pursuit. So what does this look like practically in everyday motherhood?
Carving out a few quiet moments in Scripture before the demands of the day rush in. Not out of obligation or to check it off our to do list, but because our soul needs Him.
Turning worship music on during breakfast or praying aloud for wisdom while in the car together.
Talking about God’s faithfulness when challenges arise instead of responding with stress and anxiety.
Prioritizing church community, not because attendance earns favor with God, but because you genuinely desire to grow alongside His people.
Choosing repentance quickly when you lose patience with your children. Some of the most powerful discipleship moments happen when our children witness humility firsthand.
When our children see true delight in the Lord, it will mean more to them than mere words they hear. His Word will become words they will want to live by, not because they were told to, but because they will desire to. More than a lot of religious rules to follow, they will find a relationship with Jesus, and it will be Him alone they will want to follow.
As moms, we cannot save our children, but we can point them to the One who can, and we can model a daily, ongoing relationship with Him. We are called to be faithful, not flawless. God doesn’t demand perfection when it comes to teaching our children, He simply commands our devotion. He calls us to love Him deeply and faithfully place His truth before our kids day after day. The Holy Spirit does the transforming work.
As we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, our homes begin to reflect His presence, our conversations shift, our priorities realign, grace becomes more abundant, worship becomes more natural, and teaching becomes less forced because everyone is learning to walk with Him together. That is the heart behind this passage in the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy — not a picture of rigid religious performance, but of a family shaped by wholehearted love for God. A mother loving the Lord first. Children watching that love take root in daily life. And together, learning to follow Him one ordinary moment at a time.
Love first.
Teach next.
Live it out together.
Read Deuteronomy 6 in its entirety. Ask God to speak to your heart from His Word about your own motherhood journey.
Faith Follow-Through:
This week, take some time to grow in motherhood and faith:
Tuesday:
Find a playlist you can listen to on repeat. Find worship songs that focus on loving God and sing to Him. If your children are old enough, have them sing along so they start to build that practice for themselves.
Wednesday:
Talk to three people today about God's faithfulness. Give specific examples from your own life. No matter how big or small your examples seem, they can still encourage others and remind your own heart of who God is.
Thursday:
Think about a specific way you can plug in or serve at your church. Reach out to someone today and make that happen.
Friday:
Talk to your children about forgiveness today. Ask them if they think your family does this well. If they have someone they need to forgive, talk them through what that looks like and model taking it to God in prayer.
Written by Tabitha, mom of 4
