Thought of the Day 02.18.09

All Christian parents worry about what will happen to our children when they go off to college. We hope their faith has been sufficiently grounded to withstand the withering assault college (and modern culture) are likely to wage against it. Putting aside issues about whether we should trust God to do this work or whether we are responsible for it, let me offer a simple analysis.

As has been said in other contexts, “The man with a theory is always at the mercy of the man with a more enticing theory. But the man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with merely a theory.”

Although it is good to catechize our children so that they know how to think and speak Christianly, the far more urgent need they have is for vivid, transformational encounters with God out of which no one will ever be able to persuade them. And, truth be told, isn’t that what we all need for a more solid faith, too?