Raising Your Children to Love Jesus ChristExemplo

Day 2: Model a Living and Loving Faith

Every person who has ever flown on an airplane has heard the usual preflight instructions: seat belts, exits, and flotation devices. But in the middle of that script, we also receive some counterintuitive instruction: "Parents flying with young children," we are told, "Put on your oxygen mask first. Then put on your child's mask."

While this instruction sounds backward, it is actually the most loving thing we can do for our children. This same principle holds true in the spiritual realm. The most powerful impact a spiritual leader has is their example. When Jesus called his disciples, he called them first to spend time with him. Why? Because more is caught than taught. Jesus wanted his disciples to see his life. Before we can pass on a relationship with the Lord, we must have our own vital walk.

This brings us to the second commitment as we think about how to pass the gospel to our children.

A disciple-making parent will seek to model a living and loving faith.

We see the power of example in the life of Timothy, a well-known second-generation believer. Paul makes it very clear it was the living faith of his mother, grandmother, and others in the faith community that profoundly impacted Timothy. What makes this more encouraging is that Timothy's father was not a believer. Timothy's home was not idyllic, but broken.

Our homes are the stage on which our children watch us live out our faith. When they are young, our children imitate us. As they grow to be teens, they start evaluating us. We want our lives to commend the gospel.

Living out the gospel in our homes is vitally important. The number one reason young people give for walking away from their faith as adults is hypocrisy in a parent or spiritual leader. Hypocrisy in leaders occurs when they say one thing, do another and don't care. They have stopped repenting and growing.

But this doesn't mean our children need perfect parents. There aren't any. They need to see parents who understand their need for grace and mercy from the Lord.

Right now, you may be feeling defeated. Why? Our homes can be the hardest place to live out the gospel. Our children or spouses know how to push our buttons, so we get upset. But that is precisely how God wants it. When we are weakest, we see our need for grace most.

All families are messy. But God has designed that messiness to make you more like Jesus. If we will allow it, the challenges from our children can help us grow daily in holiness.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for the many people who have influenced my own faith. Now I have a chance to do the same thing. Yet, I fall short in so many ways. I know I have said or done things in the privacy of our home that you see and my children see, but no one else sees. Forgive me for those times I have not walked by the Spirit in our home. I desire to live out my faith in front of my children. Help me not react poorly no matter what happens today. And thank you for the grace and forgiveness in the cross. With your help, I will walk in the joy and fullness of new life today. In Jesus' name.