Legacy Parents:
Frequently, when we talk about “courageous faith”, we may think about sharing Jesus with strangers, or spending time on the mission field in a third-world country… What I’d like us to talk about today is demonstrating courageous faith at home!
How openly do we talk about our own faith with our kids? Sure, it’s easy to help them say their bedtime payers, hold them accountable for what passages of God’s Word they’ve been reading lately, ask them what they learned in Kid’s Church, or quiz them on what they’re hearing from God as they consider making various choices because, after all, they’re supposed to be praying about those things, right…?
But what do we share about our faith? Re-read Deuteronomy 6:1-20 and Psalm 78 – all of it! And then focus back on verse 4 of Psalm 78 again: “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.” (NLT)
It’s important that our kids understand that WE have a personal relationship with Christ, and how our faith affects us! How do we struggle with our faith… what’s something we learned from church on Sunday… what are we hearing from God as we spend time in prayer… what events in our past have shaped our faith?
We want our kids to develop their own, personal relationship with Christ – an intimate faith in a living God. This is much more likely to happen if our kids can begin to understand that this is exactly the kind of relationship that we’re pursing, as well! Oh, and I want to encourage you with this: your faith doesn’t have to be “perfect” in order for you to share it with your kids… it just has to be real!
Perhaps it is easier to “parent” our kids by making sure they’re doing what they are “supposed” to do… perhaps it’s easier to focus on behavior and moral character – honesty, obedience, sharing, giving, kindness… you know, all those great things we learned from Veggie Tales®.
This week, let’s step out of our comfort zone and be courageous, and share with our kids what having a relationship with Jesus is like for us… today… and let’s encourage our kids that as important as having great moral character is, there’s more… (See 1 Corinthians 13 and Galatians 3). There’s a personal relationship with Christ – one that He desires to have with us – residing at the center of our faith!
May God’s grace and blessings be with you as you continue to build a heritage of faith for your family!
Pastor Pat
