“ We cannot guarantee our children ’ s salvation by our godliness , but God has placed them in our homes to witness the love of the Father and the gospel of his Son in us .”
whatever example you give them . Remember Jesus ’ s words in Matthew 15:18 – 19 . Whatever is in our hearts will flow out into public view . And whatever our children see from us , they will want to imitate — at least while they ’ re young .
New hearts are our ( and our children ’ s ) greatest need . And the fulfillment of that need is one of the great promises of the new covenant . The Lord declares , “ I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts ” ( Jeremiah 31:33 ). We are also promised God ’ s Spirit dwelling in us ( v . 27 ).
If you ’ re a Christian , God has given you a new heart and made you alive in Christ by his Spirit to walk in the power of a new life ( Romans 6:4 ). His aim for us is to be godly , that is , to look like his Son who looks just like his Father in heaven . And we who have children have the same aim — to raise our children to look like Jesus .
This is a great tension in Christian parenting . We cannot guarantee our children ’ s salvation by our godliness , but God has placed them in our homes to witness the love of the Father and the gospel of his Son in us . Your children are watching you . They ’ re always watching . So be intentional about the example you live before them . But we want to highlight three broad areas for you to focus on :
Model personal devotion to God
Do you spend time with God in prayer , reading his Word , seeking his guidance by his Spirit ?
If it ’ s not currently a part of your regular life , commit to reading and studying the Bible . Give yourself in prayer to the Lord . Ask for the Spirit ’ s help . We have found it most helpful to establish a time , choose a plan , and find a place for our personal devotions . Sitting in the same place , at the same time , with the doable plan , has helped us develop habits that became normal and natural .
“ We cannot guarantee our children ’ s salvation by our godliness , but God has placed them in our homes to witness the love of the Father and the gospel of his Son in us .”
There is no shortcut to personal holiness . God has revealed himself by his Word , and if you want to meet with God , you must read his Word . Spending time in God ’ s Word is not only food for your soul , but it also provides a great example for your family as you meet together for family devotions . When the truth of God ’ s Word is in our hearts , we can pass it along to our children . But we must also lead our children by the example of our actions .
Model personal holiness
Our children ’ s greatest need is our personal holiness . Time and time again , we want to equip our children for success in challenging situations , and our godly example will go a long way in doing that . That way , we can continually point them to Christ in us .
55