URGENCY IN PARENTING
"And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up."
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NLT)
With culture increasingly becoming more secular and toxic, the stakes of biblical parenting have never been higher. One of the things we do at church is have a Child Dedication Ceremony, which at its core, is a parent’s commitment to raise their children in the ways of the Lord. The way we parent should cause our kids to bump into God and begin to follow Him.
If you don't become the dominant influence in your child's life, someone else will. The Bible includes 58 one another statements—things like love one another, care for one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, help one another, counsel one another, and support one another. So, when we look at family, there’s a biological family, and then there’s God’s family. We help the kids grow up as the Church. So, even if you don’t have biological kids, you’re called to be a spiritual mother and father to children around you. You’re to help train the next generation to follow Jesus. If there’s one memory a child should have from their time with us and our church, it’s this: they should remember God. God was first. God is central.
Tony Evans says God created the first family. He told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And the idea was not just to fill the earth with people but to fill the earth with His image in which man and woman were made. Since our world is broken, we urgently need to raise children with a biblical mindset. This is critical for children, their future families, and our nation to flourish. We need to disciple our kids, not the world. So, we need godly influences in our families, neighborhoods and the Church. We love kids by teaching them to love the commands of God, but here is the key, we must model it. We cannot ask our kids to delight in God and follow His commands unless we do the same. Values aren’t taught, they’re caught. This means that when the next generation sees us delight and obey God, they’ll do the same.
APPLICATION:
Look for ways to speak about the love of God to the next generation today.
PRAYER:
Pray for your kids. Pray for your influence as spiritual mothers and fathers. Ask God to give you an urgency for the most critical thing today: To help children put God first.