My wife and I often assess whether or not we are preparing our kids to be able to face the world that they will have to live, work, and possibly even raise their own families in. It is a world where the truth is plain, but man still chooses to be deceived, and that deception dominates the public discourse. Despite the pseudo-theory of evolution's dismal track record and the number of prominent atheist scientists who have abandoned it, citing the lack of evidence and numerous inconsistencies, it is still being taught as unchallenged fact in every public school and even a growing number of private institutions, including seminaries. Despite protests from an overwhelming number of concerned medical professionals and staggering suicide rates, those who even dare to question the wisdom of gender identity crises are held up to the highest forms of public scorn, blacklisted, often fired, and sometimes even penalized in the legal system (illegally, mind you). A majority of our colleges and universities teach blatant lies which also often go unchallenged. They teach that Israel is an aggressor and an occupying force (in stark defiance of history), that communism and socialism are benevolent and compassionate systems (despite its unbroken track record of abject failure), that a pay gap exists between men and women (even though statistics show that the opposite is true), and many others. So, how can we as parents hope to even compete with, let alone overcome, such a world?
The answer is found all throughout the Bible, and may be best captured in John 17:3: "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." Intimate knowledge of the Truth, of God Himself and His Son, is the armor of God. Truth is the first component of the armor mentioned in Ephesians 6, and the others are like it. Righteousness is credited to us when we entrust ourselves to the Lord and to His Word, the Truth (Galatians 3:6-9). The preparation of the gospel of peace only comes with intimate knowledge of that gospel. Faith is our acceptance of God's Word, the Truth (Romans 10:17). Salvation comes by entrusting ourselves to the Lord and knowing Him, as John 17:3 teaches. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 that He was the way, and the truth, and the life, and that no man comes to the Father, but through Him. And our sword is the Word of God, the Truth.
Will we train up our children in the way that they should go? Can we train them up in a way that we do not know ourselves? The intimate knowledge of the Truth that is required for our survival and the survival of our children in this world is not an intellectual knowledge; that will come. It is instead a relational knowledge, the intimacy that comes from time spent and life lived with Him.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."-John 10:27-29