Challenge your boys to LOVE God!

Are you ready for the first aspect of the chivalry challenge? This one is foundational for your sons, your daughters, for EVERYONE. For the knight – the defender and protector of humanity – it is critical.  The French medieval historian from the 1800’s, Léon Gautier, wrote this on the importance of faith for the medieval knight:

Our knights did not remain content with mere belief in God: they considered it their duty to abandon themselves wholly to Him and not limit their trust in Him.”

We see this theme on repeat throughout medieval literature pointing towards the ideal.

When this foundation is in place, the natural progression is to love others. When we respond to God’s love for us, we want to love what he loves and he loves PEOPLE!

Love for God provides the fuel, inspiration, and rationale to live out the rest of the code of chivalry. Because of sin, humanity has a propensity to forget – to forget God and live our own lives, our own way. When this happens, EVERYTHING else suffers. However, when we keep allegiance to God we can be used by Him for mighty kingdom work and making a difference in this world. It is a grand adventure that we have the opportunity to invite our boys in to!

So here’s your plan. Reread chapter 6 of Knights in Training. It will provide context for connecting this knight training with this foundational first element. For mothers it is essential to remember that we all love and relate to God in slightly different ways. Not good or bad – just different. I wrote a bit about how our boys approach to God might differ from our own.

• Review the Code – Re-issue the challenge. If you haven’t already, chapter 4 in the book talks about how to issue your boys the chivalry challenge. Delve into great books about the knights of old and remind your boys that there is a very real need for such men today.
• Issue this months challenge to your children. Read the definition of this aspect of the code on page 76 or included in the Love God Challenge download.
• Introduce the Bible verse, discuss it. Connect this aspect of the chivalry code to its Scripture source. Print the poster, read it, and discuss! What does it mean to love God with our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength? Challenge your boys to challenge themselves by thinking this through. You might be surprised by what they come up with – even our youngest of boys.
• Define key terms. Talk to your kids about love, loyalty, allegiance, and the Imago Dei – which was the foundation for the rest of the chivalric code!
  • Kingdom:  Read the book of Matthew – talk about the Kingdom of God. What is a kingdom? What is the role of a king?
  • Allegiance & Loyalty: What is allegiance and loyalty? To whom do we give allegiance? (the flag, our country, a school, etc… But most importantly, to the LORD. WHY? Talk with your kids about WHO God is.
  • Imago Dei: We respect people – ALL people – because they are created in the image of God. Gen 1:26-28, I John 4:7-11. Read up on this in chapter 6, pg 80-81. This concept is the basis for the rest of the code because it produces empathy and leads to action.

• Map Out a Plan Loving God and inviting our children into the adventure of following God is simpler than you could imagine, but not necessarily easy. It involves mindset and intentional action. You can’t hope to pass on what you don’t already possess. So this means that while challenging your sons, you are drawing close to God, too. It’s a win for everyone. You have a beautiful opportunity to model and lead your children into an everyday relationship with the Lord.
• Share with Others – Don’t do this alone. Share how you are challenging your children, how you are growing together spiritually with your friends – in person or on social media. If we want to change the culture in not only our own homes, but also in our communities, we need to do this together. Invite your friends to grab the book and join you! Use the #ChivalryMovement hashtag on social media. Leave a link to your blog posts in the comments here.

Here in this LOVE GOD Chivalry Challenge download, I’ve included a form that you can print off and write in how you want to work out the challenge this month, as well as a synopsis page, and printable verse poster. You can consider the following categories:

Scripture to live by

If you need a place to start with your Scripture reading, go with John and I John. It beautifully focuses on God’s love for us as the foundation.

Conversations to have

What is allegiance and loyalty? To whom do we give allegiance? (the flag, our country, a school, etc… But most importantly, to the LORD. WHY?

Talk with your kids about WHO God is and what He’s done. Remember, our boys are drawn to heroes and strength. God is all of this in a way no one person can ever be.

Things to DO

Include:

• My plan to grow in the Lord.
• Our plan to get more of the Word: To know God, we must be steeped in the Word.
• Our plan to grow in talking to the Lord.
• Our plan to worship.

Books to Read

As I write about over and over and over again in Knights in Training, reading good books is so powerful in shaping who we will become. Let’s commit to finding great books that our children can feast upon – books that inspire!

• Write down a book or two that you want to read as a family.
  • Jesus Story Book Bible << This is my very favorite. It is so beautifully written that it is enjoyable for all ages. We just started reading through it again. I love seeing the big picture of God’s plan of redemption.
  • Missionary Biographies << We love this series and have found the audiobooks on Hoopla, our library app and love listening to them when we are driving!
  • Books for the Chivalry Challenge << all of the books (plus more) that I recommended in my book for encouraging chivalry in our boys.
    Here are more books we love:

Make it a Community Affair

Brainstorm how you can come together in community. Ideas might include starting a “Boys adventure book club” and start with a book about how someone boldly lived out a life of service to God.

 

This Month’s Chivalry Challenge in a Nutshell:

Love God.

Live your allegiance to Him out loud as you obey Him alone.

Then invite your children into the adventure.

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