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We live in a world that doesn’t love God. In fact, we live in a world that sometimes very blatantly hates God. So how to we raise kids to love God in a world that doesn’t?
It starts at home. It starts with us – in our own hearts and in our own families.
It starts with setting our own hearts and minds on Jesus – consistently, each day. And then letting Him change us from the inside out.
It’s from that overflow that we parent. We homeschool. We live our lives as a testimony to Jesus and who He is – in us and to us.
We speak Jesus over our kids. We pray over our families.
We live unashamedly and uninhibited for the gospel.
If we want our kids to love God, in a world that very obviously does not and very blatantly tries to lure our kids in that direction, we must ground our families in the Word and in the Truth. We need to say no to things that blatantly go against Truth. We need to teach our kids how to spot lies and half truths.
We need to build up community of like minded friends and believers, who will be a safe place for our kids to land when they mess up, have questions, and are tempted to follow the world’s idea of truth.
We need to model a life that is passionately pursuing Jesus – not turning a blind eye to the sin in the world, but knowing that Jesus is the answer to it all.
We need to teach our kids about the power of grace and forgiveness, while sharing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and lead us to repentance.
We need to fill our homes with things that good and right and true – saying no to the things that fill our heads with darkness. So that when these things do come in front of our kids, they can recognize them for what they are and choose not to participate.
We need to be aware of what our kids are watching, listening to, and reading.
We need to teach our kids how to stand up for what they believe in and how to walk away in the face of temptation. We need to share the harsh realities of choosing sin, the challenges and blessings of choosing righteousness, and the joy and hardships of following Jesus. We need to teach them how to test and weigh things against Scripture and the life of Jesus. We need to teach them how to listen to the Holy Spirit and how to hear the voice of God in their lives.
We need to pray diligently that our kids will desire the Truth of the gospel more than the trappings of this world.
Friend, our jobs as mothers is to build the foundation. And when we are followers of Jesus, the foundation isn’t just built on good books and good homemaking skills. Those things are wonderful and valuable, but we must root our kids in the Truth if we want them to be able to stand in a world that wants to knock them down.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
The world will teach our kids how to walk away from Jesus. Our job is to root them so deeply in the Truth that their neediness and desire for Jesus will be immovable. That their hearts and minds will be so focused on Him, that they are strong when the world tries to pull out their roots.
We are raising up a generation of warriors for the gospel. Kids who will fight back against the evil of this world and stand strong in the Truth of Jesus.
And it all starts here at home.
You will also enjoy these CYH posts:
Encouraging your kids to spend time in the Word
How to pray Scripture over your kids
Practicing Prayer
Growing Godly character in your kids
Reading the Bible – guilt free tips for busy moms