Spiritual parenting does not happen by accident. It takes intention. It demands making certain choices.
Family Choosing to Follow Christ
Leading your children to know and follow Christ is critical to their development and their eternal destiny. It demands you make choices concerning the kind of person you will become and the kinds of things you will do.
You must…
- Choose the right direction. At every point in life you are at a cross-road of decision. Will you live for yourself and your pleasures or will you live for the purpose of glorifying Christ? If you are going to inspire your offspring to give their lives to Jesus, you will have to make a fundamental decision to live sold-out to God. You can’t teach kids to give themselves fully to the Lord if you are only living for him part time. They will see through the hypocrisy. They will witness your partial investment and assume the Lord is not worth the price. Moses said to the Israelites before entering the Promised Land, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) Leading kids can never be separated from your personal example. Decide to live full on for Jesus.
- Choose the right mentors. How are we going to know how to naturally lead our children in the things of God? It’s best to follow the example of those who have done the same in their own homes and have been successful. These people might be close to you or people that you do not personally know, but their walk with Christ is real and you are inspired by them to walk with Christ yourself. These people may be older than you, even younger than you. They might be alive or they might have been dead for a long time. I have mentors that are alive and I can phone them up, but some have passed and I can remember their example or read about them in books.
- Choose a life of obedience. There is only one sure sign that we are included in God’s Kingdom. That is that we are obeying God’s will. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) This is a frightening passage at first reading. But to the one who is devoted to living out an obedient lifestyle before God, it need not be. God is looking for people who will really live out their profession of faith. And in the case of parents, is this not what the next generation is looking for? They want to know, is this God real, can you really have a walk with Christ that is genuine? They are looking to you to see if this LORD is really One who is worthy to follow.
- Choose to lead your family. It was Joshua who said, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) Like I said in the beginning of this post, spiritual parenting is not accidental. You must be intentional. You have to choose to lead. That means first you must choose to lead yourself. Determine to keep your spiritual life on a growth trajectory. It also means you need to lead your kids into spiritual disciplines. It would include things as simple as taking the family to church, involving them in church activities, reading the Bible and praying with your kids over dinner or at bedtime.
These simple choices can have incredible power in giving your children every spiritual advantage as they grow up in your home.
Question: What are other choices that you have found important in leading your children spiritually? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
