Godly children are the result of godly parents. A wise parent will not waste their time simply trying to raise good kids, because goodness is not the goal. Godliness is the goal. Because a child can be good without being godly. But a child who is godly will naturally be good.
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. I Timothy 4:8
But the journey of raising godly children is tough because it hinges upon the godliness of the ones doing the raising—the parents. That is both humbling and heavy to think about. God has entrusted us as parents to be the closest reflection of him that our kids will ever see.
Here are three qualities to evaluate yourself by on your journey to becoming the godly parent that your child deserves.
A godly parent is a growing parent.
Godly parents recognize that they always have room to improve and that they are in need of God’s help and the help of others. They are willing to seek out resources and relationships to help them continue to grow into the godly parent their child deserves.
Godly parenting is not about knowing all the answers, but it is about knowing the sources to find them, and a willingness to act upon what you learn through personal growth.
2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities… for when I am weak, then am I strong.
A godly parent is a grace-based parent.
Grace-based parents are by no means perfect parents, but they are parents striving to live out the Gospel in their own daily lives, recognizing that they are raising children who are in need of grace just as much as they are themselves. They are relationship-driven over rules-driven, just as God is with us.
They are willing to admit that they don’t have it all together, they don’t always know what to do, and they need the constant help and grace of God in their daily life to be the godly parent he has called them to be. They are simply stewards of the gifts from God called their children.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A godly parent is a God-like parent.
Godly parenting is rooted in the foundational understanding of who God is as your father. Your children’s view of God will be directly related to their view of their parents (and most specifically their fathers). When children see parents as patient, loving, and kind, they will view God as being the same. However, if parents are harsh, mean, and unreasonable, a child’s view of God will be directly and negatively affected by that as well.
Throughout Scripture, God has given us the pattern of what it looks like to be the perfect God-like parent, and it’s himself, through the way he parents us as his children. This doesn’t mean that we’re ever going to be perfect as a parent, but that we’re always striving to be more like the one who is.
Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Do you want to grow as a parent?
Are you willing to apply grace and the golden rule to your own parenting efforts?
Are you ready to pattern your parenting after the only perfect parent, God himself?
If so, you’re on the path of Godly Parenting!
If you desire to have these three qualities as a parent, you’re going to love my new book, Godly Parenting In an Ungodly World. It releases in just two weeks! You can find out more info or sign up to get reminded on release day here… GodlyParent.com/book.
