“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails… And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”
(1 Cor. 13:1-8, 13).
This week I have been thinking about how I often fail to teach our children about the love of God, the positive side of Christianity, and the reasons why we should want to be obedient to Him. I find myself too often pointing out the “don’t do’s” without explaining why. I make sure they know their memory cards and verses, but don’t remind them how blessed we are to own a Bible. I am determined to make some positive changes and I wanted to share why I think this is so very important.
Too many Christians of my generation have fallen away. Too many congregations of the Lord’s church are dying because they are losing their young people. Why? I believe our young people have a lack of true love for God and a lack of understanding personal application of the scriptures.
Children need to be made aware of all the wonderful things that God has done for them! We need to cultivate in them a true love and respect for God. They do not need to view God as a drill sergeant, but as the loving, just, and giving God that He is.
Our love for God is the very heart of personal faith and obedience. Until we understand how much He has done for us, we will not have the desire to please Him that we should. Children must be taught this! I’ve purposed to share with my children things like:
* God’s gift of nature.
* God’s gift of our amazing bodies.
* God’s gift of family.
* God’s gift of the Bible.
* God’s gift of the universe.
* God’s gift of friends.
* God’s gift of language.
* God’s gift of health.
* God’s gift of salvation through the sacrifice of His only Son.
* God’s gift of Heaven.
* God’s gift of prayer.
This list could go on and on forever, because He has literally given us everything we have! If we really stop and think about everything He has done for us, obeying Him should be so much easier. When I ask my children why we should obey God, I want their answer to be….”because we love Him!”
“…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27).
I am planning on showing our children how to put their names in the text and see how we can make a passage personal. I plan to let them take at least one day a week and draw or write about reasons why they love God or something they have noticed that He has done for them. I also plan to make sure that my thinking is more in tune with all the great things that He has done for me.
These are just my thoughts and plans for helping my children find a true love for Him. Hope this helps someone else!
Melissa
You have some great ideas…I being a more intellectual type tend to forget to remind the girls of God’s love except at night when I give them their God kiss.
“Mama loves you, Daddy loves, your grandparents love, but most of all God loves you.”
Thanks for the reminder.