Passing on a Legacy of Faith: A 3-Day Parenting PlanSample

Relay Race

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

The vital mission of introducing your children to the Christian faith can be likened to a relay race. First, your parents run their lap around the track, carrying the baton, which represents the gospel of Jesus Christ. At the appropriate moment, they hand the baton to you, and you begin your journey around the track. Finally, the time comes when you must get the baton safely into the hands of your child. But as any track coach will testify, relay races are won or lost in the transfer of the baton. This is the critical moment when all can be ruined by a fumble or miscalculation. Any failure is most likely to occur in this exchange. Once firmly gripped, however, the baton is rarely dropped on the backstretch of the track.

As parents, our most important reason for living is to get the baton-the gospel-safely into the hands of our children (John 3:3). Unless our sons and daughters grasp the faith and take it with them on their journey through life, it matters little how fast they run. When they cross that finish line with their commitment to Jesus Christ intact, they-and you-will bask in the applause of heaven!

Before you say good night . . .

* How, if at all, did your parents hand off the baton of faith to you?

* Are you preparing your own children for a smooth handoff?

* What more can you do to show your kids this most profound need?

Heavenly Father, our most fervent desire is to one day be together with our children in eternity. Grant us strength and wisdom as we seek to lead our children to You, especially in those critical handoff moments. Amen.

Excerpted from Night Light for Parents, used with permission.

He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; . . . (Ps. 78:5-7, ESV)

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. (2 Tim. 1:5, ESV)