Kids need God. And teaching kids about God is one of the most important things that parents can ever do for their children.
“If we don’t teach our children who God is, someone else will teach them everything that He isn’t.”– Darlene Schacht
As a parent, here are five things that you may or may not have been taught about Who God Is that you need to teach your children.
1. God is for you. He is not against you.
God loves you more than anyone or anything. Nothing will ever change that. He is not your enemy. He is your friend. And He wants to know you. He wants to love you. He wants to save you.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil…” Jeremiah 29:11
2. God is not afraid of your feelings. He already knows them.
Kids have lots and lots of feelings going on inside, whether they always show them or not. It is important that they understand that God accepts them for who they are, their feelings and all. They can go to Him in prayer or praise and share their feelings, and God won’t be surprised by anything they tell Him. He already sees their heart.
“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.” Psalm 139:2
3. God is not what people think He is. God is who the Bible says He is.
There are many competing ideas about God in the world. But there is only one source of truth about Who God is – the Bible. It is so important that children are determining their view of God not from what they see on the TV, or from what their friends say, but from their parents clearly teaching them what the Bible does and doesn’t say about God.
“I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.” Isaiah 45:5
4. God is using the things in your life to help you see Him in your life.
God is always at work. Even in the heart and life of kids. When kids understand that God is always working in their life, they can begin to see God in everything. The small things and the big things can become ‘God things’ if they’re trained to look for them.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11
5. God wants to have a relationship with you. He died for it.
More than kids need to know anything else about God, they need to know that He wants to know them, and He wants to save them. Kids need to be saved. And so kids need to understand the gospel and how that Jesus died to pay the price for their sins.
“Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God… Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” Mark 10:14-15
Even if you think your kids know these simple truths about God, why not take a few minutes this week and start a conversation to review some of these things? Allow them to ask questions, and you might just be surprised at how much they learn!
“The education of children for God is the most important business done on earth.” – R.L. Dabney
