Today’s devo is an excerpt from Grace Driscoll and Ashley Chase’s new book Flourish: A Ten Day Devotional for Moms. To get a free PDF copy, click HERE and to get a physical copy for your gift of any amount during the month of May, click HERE.
“…but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” -Matthew 19:14
We all have different experiences with Christianity growing up that shape – whether we know it or not – how we portray faith in Jesus to our kids. I hear many stories of moms from religious households who don’t want to “impose” beliefs on their kids. Others didn’t grow up with Christian parents, so they never had anyone share the gospel with them when they were young.
No matter what background you come from, God will equip you to raise and disciple your own children by His grace. It is ultimately the parents’ duty to train a child in the way they should go. School, church, and friends can all help point them in the right direction, but as parents, we are the spiritual head over our children and the caregivers for their souls by the wisdom the Holy Spirit gives us.
If we truly believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and is preparing a place for us in Heaven to spend eternity with Him, we should be sharing the Good News with our kids often from a young age so that they grow to love Him as we do.
Even when they’re so little, they can still sense the Holy Spirit and develop a love for the Lord. They don’t have to fully understand theology in order to have a regenerate heart and experience the love that the Lord has for them.
Your kids will learn things from various places that don’t align with the Bible, so have lots of open discussions so they want to talk to you when something seems “off”. For example, if you are watching a tv show together and something ungodly happens, stop and discuss why you disagree with it and let them ask questions.
Teach them how to think and not just what to think, so they can navigate the world they live in. These are just some principles we tried to follow so that our kids would develop their own faiths before leaving our house and heading out into the world.
We allowed them to wrestle, modeled behavior for them, and to this day they all love serving the church and pursuing the Lord. We made many mistakes, but we’re thankful for God’s grace to ultimately direct our kids in His path. Remember that before they are your kids, they are His kids.
Work on having age-appropriate conversations with your kids about things they might see on TV or from friends that aren’t how Jesus would want us to act, showing them how to think and not just what to think.
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