The Slide 

If you have any experience with school age children, then you’ve probably heard of the summer slide. This is when kids lose some of what they’ve learned in school over the summer break. There are often student workbooks marketed to families to help prevent this from happening. 

Education is important, but there is another slide that is even more crucial that we all need to make sure we don’t slip down. That is the slide into the world and away from God. If we’re not careful, this slide can sneak up on us and we may not realize it until we’re already slipping down, or maybe even hitting the bottom.

The good news is that there is a workbook already available for us to help us avoid the slide. That is God’s Word. Spending time in the Bible aligns us with what Jesus teaches us, important lessons that we never want to forget. Just like those student workbooks, we should be spending time in the Bible every day. Devotionals can also help us as we’re reading by explaining the text and asking questions that deepen our knowledge of God’s Word. 

When we study the Bible, we understand what God’s purpose is for us as Christians. We understand why Jesus calls us to follow Him. We understand that the Holy Spirit dwells in us and guides our lives. This deeper understanding helps prevent us from going down the slide. We can walk the narrow path and not slip when we use God’s Word as guidance. 

I encourage you today to stop sliding and start reading your workbook, the Bible. You can also find many devotionals through the Bible app, pick up a devotional booklet from church, or read along with us on Facebook.  

Just as we train our children to learn and grow, we are all God’s children who still need to grow deeper in our knowledge and understanding of Him. 

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” 

Proverbs 22:6 ESV