What is your #1 desire for your children? That they are healthy… that they succeed in sports, education, life… that they are well-liked… that they have a smooth life with few problems?
While none of those things are wrong, I know that for us personally (and maybe for you too) they completely miss the mark. Our #1 desire as Christian parents is to raise charactered children who know how to walk with God and live out their faith.
Many good Christian families would probably agree with the importance of this. However, the reality is that the average Christian family in America lives their lives little to no different Monday through Saturday than their unchurched or unsaved counterparts. Apart from attending church on the weekends, the majority of families, Christian or not, are living lives, keeping schedules, and making choices that mirror each other. God is seldom mentioned outside of church, the Bible is seldom if ever opened in the home, and there is often very little that makes “Christian” families stand out to a watching world.
However, I truly believe that God intends for Christian families to be identifiably Christian. God’s desire for the family is that their faith would intersect with every other aspect of their lives, influencing and impacting the decisions and direction of that family. We know that this is a must if we’re seeking the long-term spiritual win with our children, but how can we as Christian families practically incorporate our faith into our family? Here are 3 ways to do it:
1. Talk it out
Our children know the things that we are most passionate about because it seeps out in our conversation. The same is true spiritually. The importance of our faith personally will be reflected in how much we talk about it. As parents, we have the opportunity to talk about our faith on a daily basis through simple things like praying together, reading the Bible together, and discussing how it applies to our culture and everyday life.
Learn to talk out your faith as a family. Allow and encourage regular discussion about your beliefs and values. And don’t be afraid when your children ask questions. In fact, encourage it. And when they get old enough to start questioning their faith, don’t degrade them for it, guide them through it.
2. Live it out
Even more than you talk about your faith, you must live it. Because the most convincing thing that your children will ever see or experience that proves the reality of your faith is your life. Your life can either make or break the faith of your children and determine whether or not they choose to carry it into future generations.
Be a parent who backs up their words with their life. Sadly, many grown adults who forsook their parents’ faith did so because mom and dad led a double life that failed to produce genuine faith in them, and as a result, they raised second generation hypocrites. Don’t be that parent. Live out your faith.
3. Carry it out
This is where the rubber meets the road. Carrying out our faith practically day in and day out includes incorporating it into everyday life. If you’re telling your kids to forgive, make sure you’re demonstrating forgiveness yourself. If you’re expecting your children to read their Bible daily, make sure there are times they see you reading yours? Children are the great imitators, so give them something great to imitate.
Carry out your faith as a family. This requires allowing our faith to affect our daily decisions, the way we treat other people, and the way we treat each other as family. It affects the way we use our time, our words and actions, and our resources. It requires intentionality, and yet, it is one of the most rewarding things you may ever do as a parent.
What are some other ways that you incorporate your faith into your family? I’d love to hear them!
