I want my child to love Jesus and come to the conclusion of his need for Christ’s salvation for himself.
I had a comment the other day that really put this into perspective.
“People believe what their parents tell them & big coincidence: of the dozens of religions to choose from they ‘choose’ the same religion as their parents.”
Unfortunately, I’ve seen this to be true in some cases. Sometimes parents can shove religion down their children’s throats, and the results (‘just’) that I’ve seen are that they choose that out of fear, guilt, or peer pressure. Or, they run from it.
From the earliest of years my parents taught us the value of learning and experiencing something for our own. That included our relationship with Christ. As children living under the authority of our parents, we went to church, had friends of likeminded values, and were disciplined according to God’s Word.
But what really shaped my decision for salvation had nothing to do with my parents shoving religion down my throat, because they DIDN’T do that.
What DID they do tho? Share there OWN genuine love for Jesus.
When it’s said that children take everything, in that their parents do. It’s 100% true. And that applies to their walk with Christ too. If my walk with Christ is “fake” my child will see that. The love my parents had and still have for Jesus drew me into knowing Him for myself. For finding out the love He had for me, and in turn responding to that love.
As a parent, I know my child sees the good days that I trust God, and the hard days that I fail. But in this, I hope most of all he sees the joy and reliance I have in Christ, rather then anything of this world.
Xoxo, Shantel
