If you grew up with older siblings, you know the term "hand-me-down." When your older brother out grew his bicycle, he would get a new one and you got his old bike. Dad would buy a new car and if you were of driving age, you might get his older car. Many things get handed down: clothes, toys, a family heirloom, jewelry, etc.
But the most important thing that you could (and should) hand down is your faith. "That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you!" 2 Timothy 1:5 The Message.
Many parents have misinterpreted Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." I have heard parents say about their wayward children, "They know what is right. I raised them in church." I guess they think that by "exposing" their children to religion somehow they will soak it in.
'Train up' is the Arabic image is of a mother preparing date jam which is gently rubbed on the gums of a newborn baby, thereby enhancing the infant's appetite for and ability to digest succulentt condiments. [Grace Theological Journal] By introducing a baby to new foods, they will acquire a test for them.
When parents try to get their child to try a new food, they will often tell them, "Taste it, you will like it." Psalms 34:8 tells us "Taste and see that the Lord is good;..." Our personal walk with God should be so dynamic, so fulfilling that our children will naturally desire to have the same experience.
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