Raising Kids Who Love God

There were a few aspects of parenting that terrified me. One of those aspects was the horrifying possibility that my children may one day go totally off the rails, and turn their backs on everything we believe in.

If you read many books on Christian parenting, most of them are variations on the exact same theme. Most of them seem to focus in on topics such as:

• diciplining your little one
• training
• setting rules and standards
• family devotions
• educational choices
• daddy as the spiritual leader

All of that is well and good….it’s necessary, especially with young children.

However, if we aren’t careful, we may become so obsessed with the small stuff, we miss the big picture.

It’s not so much about how do discipline little Johnny when he does XYZ, or what your rules for ABC ought to be (unless clearly specified in God’s Word). It’s not about what book to use for Family Devotions, or even whether or not Dad does family devotions without you nagging his ears off about it.

(for the record, my husband has never done family devotions unless I nagged on the topic…which I finally stopped doing years ago)

The big picture, the important thing, the one thing which will ensure that your children walk the right path is raising children who love God.

Everything else, as the saying goes, is just details.

Obeying mom and dad and their rules out of fear of punishment will only get you so far. After a while, your children will grow up and no longer be under your control. If all that’s keeping them “good” is fear of you — it won’t last. When children are little, and unable to really understand, we set rules and boundaries to keep them safe and to build good habits into their lives, but all the while we, as moms, need to have our eyes on the real foundation for this: a love for Jesus.

Something bigger has to govern their day to day walk. That something is a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and a love for Him.

Paul wrote,

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

(Phil 1:6)

When our children have entered into that relationship with Jesus Christ, and love Him, then the One which began a good work in them can be trusted to continue to work in their lives, long after they leave home and long after we – their moms – have left this earth.