“Then Jesus bowed his head and died.” My son gasped. Each night we read to our children from our children’s Bible, and the timing has been great! We worked through the last days of Jesus’ life just in time for Easter to come. We want our children to know the real message of Easter – not bunnies and eggs and chocolate. The Creator of the world suffered an agonizing death on our behalf… but did not leave us in despair. He rose again and returned to his disciples. Death turned to life, sorrow turned to rejoicing, despair turned to hope, fear turned to courage, and doubt turned to confidence. Jesus is alive… this changes everything.
As a father, I am learning the hardship of parenting. I want to protect my kids, to encourage them, and to enable them. I want to see them achieve happiness and succeed in life. But how will I ever get from bedtime battles and willpower clashes to confident, happy, driven adults? Especially with the trajectory from generation to generation, this is as real a concern as ever. I think the question is, what is the most important thing I can give them?
“We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives.” The apostle Paul’s statement in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 sums it up well. The most important things any parent can give their children are (1) the gospel and (2) their own lives.
As Easter has just passed, it is a great time to sit down and talk with your kids about who Jesus is and what he did for us. If this changes everything (and it does), then we need to make it the center of our lives! The Bible may be thousands of years old, but its message is for us today, and it is treasure and truth for how to live our lives. Perhaps it is time for you to come to your own discovery and understanding of Jesus and his words, so you can pass your faith along to your children.
But simply to teach them about the Bible is not enough. God had a perfect plan when he initiated the family, and it wasn’t to be a perfect family. It was to go through life together: an apprenticeship of sorts by which our children train under us in knowledge, in work, and especially, in trusting and following God. We show them how to do life! We have the unfortunate power within us to teach our children laziness, complaining, criticism, resentment, and apathy… or, the power to teach our children hard work, appreciation, compassion, humility, and passion. Thankfully, the Bible can guide us to transform our attitudes into the mold we want our children to follow.
Are you willing to give your children what they need most? It will take hard work, but it will be worth it!