Reading and sharing the written word with others can be a simple yet important thing. And all it will cost you is a little bit of your time. Below are some ideas:
• Many libraries offer story time for toddlers and preschoolers. Why not encourage your teenager who loves children to offer to read at the library during story time? He or she may also be able to assist the librarian with the craft that sometimes accompanies the story.
• Involve your family in organizing projects for children to partake in when they meet at the library after school. Suggestions might include a book-reading contest or an art contest in which those who visit the library vote for their favorite piece of art drawn by children who are a part of the after-school library program.
• Why not donate time to listen to children read at school? There’s nothing quite like listening to little voices just learning to read. Some schools offer programs that allow teenagers to be aides and listen to elementary students learning to read.
• For teens who enjoy reading and helping others, a trip to a home for disabled children where your teen could read them a story and spend time with them is a blessing to both the giver and the receiver.
• Encourage your younger child who is an avid reader to take the time to help someone who is struggling with reading. A seven-year-old who is an accelerated reader can sometimes offer just the right motivation, suggestion, or helpful hint to his or her peer.
• Ask your older child to read to your preschooler or toddler. Children develop a love of reading from being read to on a regular basis.
Up for Discussion
Can you think of any other projects that involve reading that you could do? Think for a moment about the many parables Jesus told in the New Testament. Why was it important that He share these stories? How was He able to tell them in a way that made it easier for His listeners to understand? How can you read stories in a way that would make it easier for your listeners to understand?
Read Acts 8:26-40. Philip aided the Ethiopian man in understanding some significant points about Scripture. Had Philip not assisted him, the Ethiopian would have been hungry for the gospel yet never had his hunger satisfied with the answers to the questions he had.
Explain how a young child who may not hear stories often could depend on you to take him or her on an adventure as only books can.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
—Eph. 5:1-2