Atmosphere and the Bible

I love this section from Charlotte Mason: "A word about the reading of the Bible. I think we make a mistake in burying the text under our endless comments and applications. Also, I doubt if the picking out of individual verses, and grinding these into the child until they cease to have any meaning for him, is anything but a hindrance to the spiritual life.The Word is full of vital force, capable of applying itself. A seed, light as thistledown, wafted into the child's soul will take root downwards and bear fruit upwards. What is required of us is, that we should implant a love of theWord; that the most delightful moments of the child's day should be those in which his mother reads for him, with sweet sympathy and holy gladness in voice and eyes, the beautiful stories of the Bible; and now and then in the reading will occur one of those convictions, passing from the soul of the mother to the soul of the child, in which is the life of the Spirit. Let the child grow, so that,

     "New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven,"

are a joy to him, too; things to be counted first amongst the blessings of a day. Above all, do not read the Bible at the child: do not let any words of the Scriptures be occasions for gibbeting his faults. It is the office of the Holy Ghost to convince of sin; and He is able to use the Word for this purpose, without risk of that hardening of the heart in which our clumsy dealings too often result.”

This beautifully touches on the educational value of Atmosphere.  The same Bible passage can be used as an occasion for “gibbeting faults” as we bury “the text under our endless comments and applications”, or, with a “sweet sympathy” and “holy gladness”, it can be wafted as “a seed, light as thistledown.” 

The difference is due in part to the “posture” of the teacher.  I picture in her words one who comes along side, learns with, delights together, shares authentically, and in this is like Christ, who came down to dwell among us.  May I have His posture with my children, that holy gladness, so that His words would be sweet to them and bear fruit.