Deuteronomy 6:20-25: a reflection

20When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God has commanded you mean?” 21then you shall tell your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; 22and the LORD showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes; 23and he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore to our fathers. 24The LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are today. 25It shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.”

Moses tells the people how to answer their children's questions about the faith. When your son asks in time to come, What do these commandments mean?, then you shall tell him: We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Notice that the answer to the child's question is not first a list of rules or reasons, but a story, the story of what God has done: we were slaves, and God delivered us.

Notice how faith is passed on: through the story of what God has done. When the child asks why they keep God's commandments, the answer grounds it all in redemption: we were slaves, and the LORD redeemed us; and so we belong to him and keep his commandments in gratitude. The rules are not detached demands; they flow from the story of God's saving act. Faith is handed down not merely as a set of rules to keep, but as the story of a God who has redeemed his people.

That shapes how we pass faith on to the next generation. It is easy to pass on faith as a set of rules and requirements, detached from the story that gives them meaning. But the way of Scripture is to ground it in the story of redemption: what God has done to save his people. For us, the story is greater still: we were slaves to sin, and God redeemed us through Christ, and so we belong to him. When you would pass faith to your children or to others, tell them the story of what God has done, our redemption in Christ, not merely the rules to keep. Ground faith in the story of God's saving love, so that obedience flows from gratitude for redemption, not mere duty. Tell the next generation the story: we were slaves, and God has set us free.

Lord, you taught your people to answer their children's questions about the faith not first with rules, but with the story of what you had done: we were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out with a mighty hand. Show me how faith is passed on: through the story of what you have done. When a child asks why we keep your commandments, the answer grounds it in redemption: we were redeemed, and so we belong to you and obey in gratitude. It is easy for me to pass on faith as a set of rules detached from the story that gives them meaning. But your way is to ground it in the story of redemption, and for us the story is greater still: we were slaves to sin, and you redeemed us through Christ. When I would pass faith to my children or to others, help me tell them the story of what you have done, our redemption in Christ, not merely the rules to keep. Help me ground faith in the story of your saving love, so that obedience flows from gratitude, not mere duty. Let me tell the next generation the story of your redeeming grace.