The Study Watchtower, «Article 13», Week of May 22 to 28, 2023, Use creation to teach your children, Answers.

The Study Watchtower, «Article 13», 22-28-May-2023, Use creation to teach your children, Answers.

"Who has created these things?" (IS. 40:26).

1. What do Christian parents want?

They want to help their children to know and love Jehovah. In this way, they will see Jehovah as the real one and will be motivated to approach him, and Jehovah will also approach them as indicated by James 4:8.

Of course, since Jehovah is an invisible God, they cannot see him and therefore what can parents do to make them see him as someone real, well, we are going to see him in paragraph 2.

2. How can parents teach their children about Jehovah and his qualities?

2 Timothy 3:14-17. He shows that one way is by studying the Bible together. For its part, Proverbs 3: 19-21 shows that parents can use creation to teach their children about Jehovah and his personality.

And parents should not wait until their children are older to start talking to them about Jehovah, because when Paul wrote to Timothy he reminded him that since he was born he was already taught the holy writings. And now the slave has done very well for the parents in JW There are lots of videos and animated whiteboards that help the little ones to get closer to Jehovah.

Proverbs 3:19-21 points out that Jehovah's wisdom is clearly seen in everything he has created on earth. In the same way, creation reflects the power, love, personality of Jehovah and how we parents are going to see, we can use it to give our children to know Jehovah and come closer to him.

HOW YOU CAN USE CREATION TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

3. What help should parents give their children?

Parents should take advantage of opportunities to help their children see the relationship between created things and Jehovah's wonderful qualities.

In Romans 1:20 it says that the invisible qualities of Jehovah, his power and divinity, are seen from creation and are perceived by created things. So what parents can do is spend time with their children outdoors so they can see this.

Yes, then parents should have these opportunities to help their children see the relationship that exists, between what Jehovah has created and his wonderful qualities, that they have a relationship and can appreciate these qualities more and more.

4. How did Jesus use creation to teach his disciples? (Luke 12:24, 27-30).

The quoted texts from chapter 12 of Luke show that the first thing Jesus did was ask his disciples to observe the ravens and the lilies, two elements of nature that they knew very well. After this, he used them to teach them a lesson about the generosity and goodness of Jehovah, who can feed and clothe his faithful servants just as he does the ravens and the flowers of the field.

Jesus made sure that the disciples learn the lesson, that teaches us that Jesus meditated a lot, he did not see the first flower that he found and said, look at it, we learn from flowers, he had meditated a lot on that. And it teaches us parents that we also have to meditate beforehand on what creation teaches us about Jehovah and then transmit this to our children.

And surely there were many other animals or plants that he could have mentioned as examples, but he chose something that the disciples knew very well so it was easier to make them understand the lesson.

5. What examples from creation can parents use to teach their child about Jehovah?

Parents can imitate Jesus by telling their children about some aspect of nature they like, and use it to explain what that teaches them about Jehovah. You can also ask them which plants and animals they like the most, and use those common elements to get their attention and interest in the teaching that is intended to be given.

Well, we do not have to resort to research or look for very elaborate comments, but rather, we must make simple comments about what surrounded him on a day-to-day basis, perhaps comment on how impressive some mountains or the waves of the sea are. this demonstrates the power of Jehovah.

6. What do we learn from Christopher's mother?

We learn that we must make our children see what the relationship between what they see in creation and the love that Jehovah has for us

We learn that Parents can use simple comments about the things around them to teach their children to value creation. For example, when Christopher and his mother were near the mountains, she would take the opportunity to tell him about those beautiful mountains and ask him: Did he think it was amazing? And she took the opportunity to talk about Jehovah and the power that he has. With these simple phrases she prompted her son to meditate on what creation could teach her about Jehovah.

From all of Jehovah's creation we can draw many lessons. I recently watched a sunset with my children, we felt very happy to see the variety of colors that it does not set in a sunset, Violet orange are wonderful colors and then talking to her we said about the great love that Jehovah has, because just looking at that facet of creation makes us so happy and we can highlight many qualities of Jehovah.

7. What can you do to teach your children to meditate on creation?

Parents can mention something specific in nature and then ask their children what that teaches them about Jehovah. In this way, they will grow by learning to meditate on the lessons that creation teaches them about Jehovah's personality.

It seems that the goal of the parents should be that at a certain moment they are the ones who say that Jehovah teaches us this as a goal or end, but the goal should be that over time it is the children who learn to say that he teaches me this from Jehovah, because the parents are not going to be there and always and neither is a father telling him at 30 years old that he teaches him that is Jehovah.

And the surprise that one can get is that our children teach us parents lessons, and that would be something very moving, and if it happens, it is because we have followed to the letter what Jehovah teaches us to Christian parents.

WHEN YOU CAN USE CREATION TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

8. What could the Israelites do when they were “on the road” with their children?

The Israelites could take advantage of the country roads filled with a wide variety of animals and plants to obey Jehovah's instruction recorded at Deuteronomy 11:19. In this way, they obtained the attention and interest of their children, and then with simple examples they could teach them the commandments of Jehovah.

Just as for the Israelites walking with their children was a golden opportunity to teach their children, it should be for us too. Since when you are an adult you lose that sense because we have a lot of stress, practically traveling sometimes is overwhelming and generates a lot of tension. However, for a child it is something very special and on many occasions when the trip is long, then it requires that a parent think beforehand about what he can teach them and then take advantage of the occasion.

Well, you have to set aside time to be together and take advantage of any opportunity to establish this relationship of what Jehovah has done and its qualities.

9. What do you learn from Punitha and Katya?

From Punitha we learn that when you live in a city you should take advantage of the views that can be made of the countryside, to teach your children some things about Jehovah's wonderful creation, since in this way it is much easier for children to understand what that creation can teach them.

From Katya we learn that parents should teach their children from a very early age to meditate on creation, and what it teaches them about Jehovah, because in this way, the memories will stick with them, as well as the lessons they learn and never they will forget even if they become adults.

And we also learn from these examples that the effort is worth it, that the parents take that time, knowing that nowadays it is so difficult to separate them, because we are not used to taking them out into the wild here in these areas, because in these experiences we have seen that they still When they were older, they already remembered those beautiful moments when they were with their parents. And above all to meditate to stop and get to know Jehovah better.

10. What can parents do if it is difficult for them to leave the city? (See the box “Helps for parents”).

Parents under these circumstances can observe creation and talk about Jehovah's qualities in a park or on a balcony, as they may see birds, insects, plants, and many other things that they can use in this regard. Karina, mentioned in the paragraph, remembers that her mother showed her the pretty flowers they saw along the way.

Another thing that parents can use, if it is difficult for them to go out of town to observe creation, is to use the videos and publications that they have produced in Jehovah's organization, which are great for talking to children about creation.

And without a doubt, parents now have a lot of help that the organization provides. The part of JW has a lot of videos, just these days one of the photosynthesis videos has come out that parents can use to increase their children's love for the Jehovah's creation.

In addition, a list of videos and publications that are available on jw.org for this purpose is given in the box. There are the videos: The wonders of creation reveal the glory of God and the videos in the section "Opinions on the origin of life." Also Articles and videos in the “Did someone design it?” and The booklet Is Life the Work of a Creator?

The paragraph comments on the experience of Karina from Germany who already explains that her mother loved flowers, so when she was little and they went for a walk she would point out the pretty flowers that were seen along the way, then I was thinking that in this spring time here in our surroundings there are fields of poppies that beautify the fields a lot, then a good opportunity that parents can take advantage of to teach their children about Jehovah's creation. 

ILLUSTRATION

Well, it's a very pretty and tender image. You can see a mother with her little girl. We see that she lives in the city because you can see buildings behind, but she is taking advantage of the community patio or a small terrace that she has and they are observing the butterfly and she is telling her daughter things about them and she doesn't expect the girl to be older, since she was little she is telling her lessons that she will surely remember.

A mother tells her little daughter to watch a butterfly fly past them. They are in a city, on a balcony of the building in which they live. Even in a city, there are aspects of creation that you can use to teach your children about Jehovah. (See paragraph 10).

Aid for parents

They can take advantage of the following information, which is available at jw.org:

The articles and videos in the section “Did someone design it?”

The booklet Is Life the Work of a Creator?

The Wonders of Creation Video Reveals the Glory of God

The videos of the section "Opinions on the origin of life"

JEHOVAH'S INVISIBLE QUALITIES “ARE CLEARLY SEEN”

11. What can parents do to help their children perceive Jehovah's love?

They can exemplify Jehovah's love by using and the tenderness with which many animals care for their young. They can also draw attention to the extraordinary variety in creation, both of which reflect Jehovah's love.

And the sister's experience then underscores what we've seen in a previous paragraph of stopping and taking time to spend time on it and then the sister said that when she was older the mother did it and then she also stopped and looked closely, so in a time in which we are always running very stressed but it will never be a waste of time to stop and recreate in a creation of Jehovah.

Karina, mentioned above, tells that when she was a child and she would go for a walk with her mother, she encouraged her to observe the differences in the flowers and how the beauty of those flowers reflected Jehovah's love. That made Karina, still an adult, keep looking at the flowers and meditating on how much Jehovah loves us.

And then also think about the lessons that these illustrations teach us, for example, the mother encouraged him to notice that each flower is different, Jehovah could have created the same type of flower but nevertheless he has created different types of flowers with different smells and colors and that shows a lot the love that Jehovah has for us that he wants us to enjoy life.

12. What can parents do to help their children see Jehovah's wisdom? (Psalm 139:14; see also images.)

They can use examples from nature to show their children the wisdom of Jehovah. For example, you can explain to them that water turns into clouds and that clouds float in the air to easily carry water to other places.

They can also use examples of the design of the human body to show their children the wisdom of Jehovah. The father that we see in the Illustration took advantage of the occasion in which his son fell off his bicycle and injured himself, to show him that if the wound healed on its own and in a few days, it is because Jehovah created us with the capacity to cell regeneration, demonstrating his infinite wisdom.

I think the important thing is that the father has not forgotten the accident but that days later, since the child is wearing other clothes and the knee is no longer like that, he has taken the opportunity to tell him the wisdom of Jehovah that makes his knee more or less healthy and the bike is there, we don't know if the bike also suffered but it's a contrast to tell him look, this was done by Jehovah and yet if we don't fix the bike it won't fix itself, so of course it has had to have the father in mind to take advantage of this occasion days later. 

In addition, you can explain to your children the contrast that exists between human wisdom and the infinite superior wisdom of Jehovah. If the car which is made by man is damaged, it cannot repair itself. But if a nail breaks, it grows back, if the skin suffers scrapes and scratches, it regenerates itself. And the same thing happens in animals like the lizard, for example, when it loses its tail it grows a new tail. It also happens that when the plants are pruned they grow back even stronger and more beautiful. With these types of examples, children can be made to meditate deeply on the wisdom of Jehovah.

ILLUSTRATION

A father is talking to his son while holding a band-aid. Magnified view of the boy's knee shows that he scraped himself. To teach your children about God's wisdom, you can talk about the amazing design of our bodies. (See paragraph 12).

13. What can parents do to help their children think about Jehovah's power? (Isaiah 40:26).

They can follow the example of Isaiah 40:26. And in this way invite our children to observe the sky so they can see how the wonderful stars stay in their place. The same thing that happened to Sister Tingting could happen to you. To think that the power has been used to create all those stars and keep them in their respective places, you can also use it to help all your faithful servants to stay upright and face different difficulties in life. This is an excellent motivation for children to want to know Jehovah better and serve him no matter what.

Well, the verse that we have just read is an invitation from Jehovah to look up to heaven and see the stars, and here is the experience of a sister who, when she was young, says that when her mother went to the field at night and she saw a clear sky full of stars and comments that this was not a good time for her because she had pressure at school, she thought that it could make it difficult for her to be faithful to Jehovah and her mother wisely used the stars to tell her the power that Jehovah had having created them and how Jehovah could use that same power to give her the strength to remain faithful, so as she says that this trip helped her to know Jehovah and motivated her to continue being faithful to him, therefore all the effort she what their parents do will never be in vain for the benefit of their children.

We see that the mother was very perceptive since she took her to the field, a place where there is no light pollution so that her daughter could appreciate the grandeur of Jehovah's creation. 

14. How can parents use creation to help their children see that Jehovah is a happy God?

They can give the example of animals like the cat that likes to play with objects, and the dogs that play with each other and sometimes even with their own tail, as this shows that Jehovah is cheerful and has a sense of humor. They are very simple but very practical examples that will help us teach our children that all of creation reflects the qualities and personality of Jehovah.

With these examples, parents can teach their children that just as animals reflect that Jehovah is a happy, creative and good-humored God, we, his servants, should also do so. Hence, we should not allow the problems and concerns of this system prevent us from reflecting the happiness of Jehovah.

And there is a comment here from a scientist, they have observed that most animals play, including birds and fish, and this is very interesting. Isaiah 40:20 says that their food is produced by the mountains where all the wild animals play, that is, the animals Made them happy to play.

ENJOY THE CREATION OF JEHOVAH WITH YOUR FAMILY

15. What can help parents find out what their children are thinking? (Proverbs 20:5; see also image.)

Some parents have found it helpful to talk to their children while enjoying nature because there are fewer distractions for everyone, and because they are more relaxed. This makes it easier to lead the conversation and find out what your children are thinking and feeling. We have the example of Katya. She says that her mother took her to a very nice park to talk with her about how school had gone.

Also this story of Masahiko, who took his children for a walk in the mountains or to the beach, because that way it was easier for him to converse with them. Proverbs 20:5 shows that discernment is needed to find out what is in the heart. So Masahiko demonstrated discernment by preparing a good environment and then choosing the right moment to talk with his children and find out what he felt or thought.

Well, it has really been proven that when people, human beings, leave that artificial space in big cities and get closer to nature, what is Jehovah's creation, there is no doubt that people relax more, they are more relaxed, we are in our habitat and that for children make them more open and receptive to having a conversation with their parents and in this way they open their hearts. 

ILLUSTRATION

And continuing with the details, it has caught my attention that the girl's backpack is very big but the mother's is not, so that makes me think that they are not on an excursion and that the backpack is so big perhaps that she has gone to Pick up at school and instead of going home right away, they have gone for a walk in the park.

A young girl tells her mom how she feels. They are sitting on a park bench. While you are enjoying nature together, your children may be more relaxed and want to tell you what they are feeling. (See paragraph 15).

16. How can families enjoy Jehovah's creation?

Ecclesiastes: 3:1,4 says that there is a time to laugh and a time to jump. So families can take advantage of beautiful places that Jehovah has created, such as beaches, mountains, and fields, for recreational activities and for observing nature. Enjoying creation together will allow you to learn and meditate more, relax and talk, also have fun and bond more as a family.

There are many ways to enjoy nature depending on what each family likes, as mentioned here, some go to the countryside, others go to the mountains, others go to the beach, so enjoying nature and the creation that Jehovah has given us. It has given us the opportunity to do it because it allows families to relax because there is time to laugh and jump as the Bible says and that means that in the long run families can also be more united in this. 

17. Why should parents help their children enjoy Jehovah's creation?

And as the paragraph at the end indicates, now is the time to teach them to see nature, the quality of Jehovah, not to wait for the new world.

They must do it to teach them about Jehovah and so that they come to feel the same as King David felt, that there is no one like Jehovah and no works like his.

They should also do it so that their children are prepared from now on to fully enjoy creation in the new world, where there will be no reason to fear animals or any other element of nature, since there we will have eternity to live. enjoy all that Jehovah has made.

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

What do we learn from the way Jesus used creation to teach?

We learned that we can teach deep truths simply, not complicate things. Jesus used examples that were known to his audience, he did not speak much, but his words made them think, and Jesus asked questions, asking them to observe, we can do the same with our children asking them questions and asking them with affection, that for Put down your cell phone for a moment and look at what we are going to show you. 

When and where can parents teach their children about Jehovah?

There are brothers who live in areas surrounded by nature and others in cities, but be that as it may, everyone is encouraged to take advantage of the time and help to instill in their children the qualities of Jehovah that we see in creation and a respect for nature and the animals.

Why is it good for families to spend time enjoying nature?

Because time passes quickly, and when they realize their children are already adults, and they are no longer at home, technology also traps time and seeks to distance us from our family and the creator, it is not good to think that until the new world we will teach them, as now is the time to do so.