April 2007 | Posted in • Family | (0) Comments |
The Word of God says that “children are a heritage of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward (Psalm 127: 3).” Webster defines the word heritage as “property that descends to an heir.” We are the heirs of God Almighty, and our children belong to Him. When we consider that children are a heritage, a gift from our Father in Heaven, we know that we should take care of the gift that has been given. Each child has within them the very spirit that God created them to be from infancy to adulthood. He has plans for each of our children, to give them a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11). We are to nurture and cultivate their hearts toward the plan of God for their lives. Here are a just a few ways to invest into the plan that God has for our children:
First, we should pray for our children daily. We should pray with our understanding and include in our prayers such topics as our child’s salvation (Rom. 10: 9-13), their heart’s desires to be in line with God’s plan and purpose for them (Prov. 16:9), that they “may prosper in all things and be in health” (3 John 2), and that the enemy’s plans and weapons will fail to prosper against them (Is. 54:17). We should also pray with other tongues, and allow ourselves to be used by the Holy Spirit to pray the perfect will of God for our children. This method of prayer is especially helpful when our children are facing challenges and we are unsure how to help them overcome.
The second area of investment in our children is our witness. This is how we lives our life in front of them daily. We cannot expect our children to live up to a standard that we ourselves do not meet. They emulate what they see before them. The Bible speaks very clearly that we are commanded to live right before God, and that we are to teach the same to our children. We are to diligently teach them by the way we talk and act in our homes, and the way we “walk our walk,” both in the morning, and in the evening. (Deut. 6:6-9 & Deut. 11:18-20) This means we cannot put on a “church” show for our children on Sunday morning, and not live it out Monday through Saturday when life’s pressures come upon us.
“We cannot expect our children to live up to a standard that we ourselves do not live.”
Another area of investment that we should pour into our children is how important church and discipleship is to their spiritual growth. When the church is having a service, we should be there with our children. After church, we should also talk with our children about what they learned from the service (or their class), and share with them what we gained from the service as well. Taking the extra time to discuss a lesson more thoroughly may help bring added understanding to our children and help them grow spiritually. Find ways to reinforce the lesson throughout the week to demonstrate the practicality of God’s Word. In addition to church attendance and lesson discovery, as a family, spend time praying, reading God’s Word, and learning scriptures. These are powerful opportunities to demonstrate the importance of a relationship with God to our children.
In conclusion, we should be real with our children on their level of understanding. Seek the Lord’s guidance on how to use biblical principles to invest in your child’s discovery and growth in God. Remember that it is the “Lord (that) builds the house” (Ps. 127:1), and we as parents need His direction and counsel to make wise investments into our children, investments that will bear good fruit for a lifetime.
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