Raising Faithful Children By randy Saller When it comes to passing along our faith in God to our children, telling kids about God is vital, but there’s more. Even sharing about the role of God in our own life isn’t enough to make a clean handoff of the baton of faith. Kids need more than to hear about God; they need to see God in our daily lives. When parents joyfully submit to God’s will day by day, heaven literally comes to Earth, and our children see the kingdom of God firsthand. If we want to influence our children’s faith, nothing replaces modeling a personal relationship with God. Authentic Christianity I think it’s safe to say that for Christian parents there is no greater mission than that of passing along their faith. The problem is that our methodology can become mechanical, based on an assumption that if we do X, Y, and Z, our children will acquire faith. I have discovered that no number of trips to church and no amount of exposure to biblical teaching can replace the impact of the manner in which I live. When children observe parents striving to make every decision in light of God’s Word, they encounter the kingdom of God. Children process this kind of lifestyle not merely as an event but as a supernatural, transformative reality. Loving the King If we want to go beyond talk and live out the reality of the kingdom, it’s essential for us to fall in love with the King—Jesus. The core value of kingdom life is a passionate, devoted love for Jesus. Those living in total dependency upon Christ realize that there is nothing they can do to earn his acceptance. The labor for our soul has long since been accomplished on the cross. Yes, we do enter into our Lord’s service, but the work of loving the One who loves unconditionally and completely isn’t toilsome but easy and delightful. If our children are to experience the atmosphere of heaven, they need to “catch” the view that our Christian work, far from being a chore, is an expression of love for this glorious King. For us as parents, demonstrating kingdom living doesn’t imply that we’re free of imperfections. I have sinned against each one of my children more often and more deeply than I’ll ever know. The good news is that even though sin influences us, it doesn’t have to dominate us. Sin is present in our relationships with our kids, but it doesn’t have to define that relationship. On the cross Jesus Christ defeated the power of sin so that it will never get the last word in our lives. When we ask our kids for forgiveness and really mean it, God uses that dynamic to disable sin’s potency in the relationship. Don’t underestimate the power of admitting sin and asking for your child’s forgiveness. When children see us model humility, they’re compelled to do the same. Accept Your Shortcomings Esteem God’s Word Even the best, most vibrant relationship with Jesus doesn’t guarantee that our children will accept our faith. Ultimately, children have a free will and must decide for themselves whether or not to follow Christ. If you’re a parent who loves Jesus and models an authentic faith in God, make sure you esteem not just the person of Christ but also the Word of God. What are you reading during your leisure time? Use the 50/50 formula. For every moment spent reading something other than the Bible, match reading the Bible for that same amount of time. Children who see parents reading their Bibles are more likely to follow suit. How we treat the Bible conveys a message to our children about the integrity of this book. Show the Kingdom As an elementary school teacher, I read a lot about the desert and even taught lessons on it, but nothing helped me fall in love with the desert more than actually going there, seeing the towering saguaros, and jogging beside a roadrunner. Similarly, if we want our children to believe in Jesus Christ, they must see his kingdom firsthand. Every day is an opportunity to demonstrate the reality of that kingdom through our relationship with Jesus Christ. As we do this, our children, beyond hearing about the kingdom, will glimpse and taste its sweetness for themselves. Randy Saller is a special education teacher at Gavin Central Elementary School in Ingleside, Illinois, as well as a freelance writer. For more information about the author, please visit www.randysaller.com. A Publication of Christian Schools International | Spring 2014 27