How to Fall in Love with God

We cheer and chide, push and pull, preach and pray, worry and wonder. Will our children choose to follow the Lord on their own? After all, you can lead a kid to the Bible, but you can’t make him believe.

So how do you teach one to fall in love with God?

In part, we can’t. It’s the Holy Spirit that draws people to God. We can pray daily that our children respond to the Spirit’s prompting.

I will give them a desire to know me and to be my people. They will want me to be their God, and they will turn back to me with all their heart.

Jeremiah 24:7 (CEV)

And as we pray for our kids to fall deeply in love with the Lord, we can also work to not get in the way. We can focus on the heart of the matter—that they should love the Lord—and not just hammer a set of Biblical commands. We can extend to our children the grace we need ourselves and keep our expectations appropriate for their age and maturity, recognizing the Lord is patient with all of us.

When discussing how he created The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of storybooks for children, C. S. Lewis wrote, “Why did one find it so hard to feel as one was told one ought to feel about God or about the sufferings of Christ? I thought the chief reason was that one was told one ought to. An obligation to feel can freeze feelings.”

Instead of focusing on how your kids “should” feel about God, explore with them the wonder, the beauty, and the love of the Lord. Read the stories of the Bible with your kids, looking for what God is doing and why he is doing it. Seek out good biblical literature that helps us better understand Christian doctrines. Or point out biblical themes, like redemption or forgiveness, in any story. And if their attention is running short for traditional Bible lessons, spend time outdoors drawing their attention to things in nature through which God reveals himself.

So, pray first; pray always. Then look for opportunities to teach your children about God in various ways. And don’t forget to celebrate the moments when you see their young hearts and minds understanding and appreciating the goodness and fullness of God’s unending love.

PRAY

Lord, you are worthy of our love. Help us to love you more. Help me to show my children how wonderful you are. And I pray they will fall in love with you. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): What are the attributes of God that make him amazing? In what ways can you show your love to him?

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

Ezekiel 11:19

Romans 5:5b