When we help children listen to Jesus, we invest in their future.

"Daddy, will you read the Bible to me before I go to bed?"

Here comes Dakota waving his big Bible in his hand. Not a new request. His dad reads to him often. But this night is a little different. Dad is dog tired. He had worked a long day as an electrician, and the sandman had already dusted his tired eyes. So Dad says, "Dakota, I am so tired. I don't think I can read very much tonight. I am already falling asleep."

After reading only a couple paragraphs, Dad says, "Dakota, I don't think I will make it much longer."

Dakota isn't an easy sell. He says, "Well, just read the words in red, because I want to hear Jesus."

How can you argue with that? Dad perks up and reads the words of Jesus for a little longer. Guess who falls asleep first? Yep, Dakota falls asleep with the words of his Savior filling his ears.

We want to hear Jesus

"I want to hear Jesus." That sums up the heart of every believer. Jesus once said, "My sheep listen to my voice" (John 10:27). We want to hear Jesus more than any other voice, don't we? We want to hear Jesus because we know he never said anything untrue. We want to hear Jesus because his words cut past the fog that settles into our minds and hearts and shines through to where we need to be. We want to hear Jesus because we know he loves us more than anyone else, and it brings contentment to hear from people we love.

We need to hear Jesus

But there is a part of each one of us that doesn't want to hear from Jesus. The Bible calls it our old Adam. We inherited him from our parents, Adam and Eve, after they quit listening to God. When we let our old Adam lead our hearts, we don't want to listen to Jesus at all. In those times, to listen to Jesus would be to lose ourselves! It would mean the death of our selfish will and cause a major change of attitude and direction in our lives. But that's when we absolutely must hear Jesus because only his truth can break the will of the old Adam and give us a heart like Dakota's.

That's why it is so important for moms and dads to read the Word of God to their children. Some days children will run to you and ask for it. Other days they will run from you and ask you not to read. But on both days, read the Word of God to them anyway. It is living and powerful and pierces to the depths of their souls. Let them always hear the life-changing words of Jesus.