Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14
I don't know about you, but this verse overwhelms me a bit. You always see it all cutesy referencing pictures of children, but the part of the verse that says, "do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" drives me into deep thought. My children won't just automatically know and love God, so it is my responsibility to teach them about the Awesomeness of God Almighty; in doing so, I have to teach them accurately. Teaching them accurately does not mean driving scripture into them and using the Word as a rule book. It does not mean making them pleasers of man or just "good" people. If I teach them in these ways, I wholeheartedly believe I am "hindering" them from knowing the meaning of the Loving, Grace Giving, Merciful God. If I want my children to know, love, and serve God with all their being, I have to teach them by modeling to them what the love, and grace of God looks like.
I have been reading a book that a friend recommended that the Holy Spirit has used to bring much conviction to my style of parenting. Ok...time to get really personal and allow you to see the inside of my ugly heart. I have considered myself a "good christian" parent up until I started reading this book. I parent my children really no differently than strictly "moral people" parent their children. Sure I use scripture to lay out the rules, but what is really the end goal I'm looking for by doing so...behavior. If behavior is my only motivation, then how is that any different from teaching morals for a desired behavior.
"Religious obedience is what we teach children to do as part of a life of faith before they come to faith. For instance, we ask them to wait before we eat so that we can thank God for our food. This is usually nothing more than a religious exercise for them. They lear when to stand up in church, when to sing, and when to sit quietly. They learn to give their pennies in Sunday school.
We call this form of obedience "religious obedience" because it has to do with the practices of the faith, but it is not necessarily the fruit of saving faith. It may be the fruit of any number of things, including a desire to avoid discipline or, worst of all, a desire to feel good about their own obedience. Of course, it may also be the fruit of real faith, but we must never assume that because a child closes his eyes when the family prays, he's regenerate. Outward conformity to religious exercises is not proof of regeneration. Jewish children are reverent during religious services, and unbelievers sit quietly at wedding ceremonies.
Training children in religious obedience is not wrong; in fact, we are commanded to do so. We are told to teach them the Bible, to talk with them about God's nature and works, to pray in their presence, and to take them to worship (see Ex 12:26-38; Deut. 4:9-10; 6:7-9; Ps. 78:4-8; Eph 6:4). But telling children they are good or that God is pleased with them because they closed their eyes during prayer time is both dangerous and false."
This is just a excerpt from "Give Them Grace" that brought floods of questions to my mind and heart. It brought me to much repentance for the way I have viewed my own parenting and the motivations behind the ways I have taught my children. Praise God we are only three years into this journey of parenting and the Lord will hopefully bless us with may more years!
We also saw the movie "Courageous" a couple of weeks ago and oh my did that put a few thing into perspective; like all of the questions my three year has throughout the day...my how I would miss those questions if she were not there! It also helped me to realize that the time I have with them right now is so important and if I want them to care what I think, and listen when I teach them, and respond to the Gospel call, I have to invest my life in them! The few years I have to parent are sacrificial years and the time that I spend teaching my girls how to be Godly wives, mothers, and servants of the One, True, Living God is critical.
I have recently been trying to figure out how exactly to use my parenting methods of discipline to point out to my three year old the ugliness of our hearts and our inability to keep from sinning. I have been trying to point out to her that apart from the help the Jesus gives us we are going to continue to sin; but in that I have also been able to point out to her the remarkable Grace of God to forgive us when we are His children because the blood of Jesus Christ washes over us and cleanses us from all of our ugliness...WHEN OH WHEN WILL SHE GET THIS...WHO KNOWS!!! Could me YEARS...but my job is to continue planting a garden and the Creator of all good things will decide when it's time to send the rain and harvest the crop!
THE WORKS OF THE LORD ARE GREAT. Psalm 111:2
I don't know about you, but this verse overwhelms me a bit. You always see it all cutesy referencing pictures of children, but the part of the verse that says, "do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" drives me into deep thought. My children won't just automatically know and love God, so it is my responsibility to teach them about the Awesomeness of God Almighty; in doing so, I have to teach them accurately. Teaching them accurately does not mean driving scripture into them and using the Word as a rule book. It does not mean making them pleasers of man or just "good" people. If I teach them in these ways, I wholeheartedly believe I am "hindering" them from knowing the meaning of the Loving, Grace Giving, Merciful God. If I want my children to know, love, and serve God with all their being, I have to teach them by modeling to them what the love, and grace of God looks like.
I have been reading a book that a friend recommended that the Holy Spirit has used to bring much conviction to my style of parenting. Ok...time to get really personal and allow you to see the inside of my ugly heart. I have considered myself a "good christian" parent up until I started reading this book. I parent my children really no differently than strictly "moral people" parent their children. Sure I use scripture to lay out the rules, but what is really the end goal I'm looking for by doing so...behavior. If behavior is my only motivation, then how is that any different from teaching morals for a desired behavior.
"Religious obedience is what we teach children to do as part of a life of faith before they come to faith. For instance, we ask them to wait before we eat so that we can thank God for our food. This is usually nothing more than a religious exercise for them. They lear when to stand up in church, when to sing, and when to sit quietly. They learn to give their pennies in Sunday school.
We call this form of obedience "religious obedience" because it has to do with the practices of the faith, but it is not necessarily the fruit of saving faith. It may be the fruit of any number of things, including a desire to avoid discipline or, worst of all, a desire to feel good about their own obedience. Of course, it may also be the fruit of real faith, but we must never assume that because a child closes his eyes when the family prays, he's regenerate. Outward conformity to religious exercises is not proof of regeneration. Jewish children are reverent during religious services, and unbelievers sit quietly at wedding ceremonies.
Training children in religious obedience is not wrong; in fact, we are commanded to do so. We are told to teach them the Bible, to talk with them about God's nature and works, to pray in their presence, and to take them to worship (see Ex 12:26-38; Deut. 4:9-10; 6:7-9; Ps. 78:4-8; Eph 6:4). But telling children they are good or that God is pleased with them because they closed their eyes during prayer time is both dangerous and false."
This is just a excerpt from "Give Them Grace" that brought floods of questions to my mind and heart. It brought me to much repentance for the way I have viewed my own parenting and the motivations behind the ways I have taught my children. Praise God we are only three years into this journey of parenting and the Lord will hopefully bless us with may more years!
We also saw the movie "Courageous" a couple of weeks ago and oh my did that put a few thing into perspective; like all of the questions my three year has throughout the day...my how I would miss those questions if she were not there! It also helped me to realize that the time I have with them right now is so important and if I want them to care what I think, and listen when I teach them, and respond to the Gospel call, I have to invest my life in them! The few years I have to parent are sacrificial years and the time that I spend teaching my girls how to be Godly wives, mothers, and servants of the One, True, Living God is critical.
I have recently been trying to figure out how exactly to use my parenting methods of discipline to point out to my three year old the ugliness of our hearts and our inability to keep from sinning. I have been trying to point out to her that apart from the help the Jesus gives us we are going to continue to sin; but in that I have also been able to point out to her the remarkable Grace of God to forgive us when we are His children because the blood of Jesus Christ washes over us and cleanses us from all of our ugliness...WHEN OH WHEN WILL SHE GET THIS...WHO KNOWS!!! Could me YEARS...but my job is to continue planting a garden and the Creator of all good things will decide when it's time to send the rain and harvest the crop!
THE WORKS OF THE LORD ARE GREAT. Psalm 111:2
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to SUCH AS THESE." Matthew 19:14
Lord, my prayer is that these two precious girls, Madie and Hannah may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet. 3:18)
Well said, Christy. I think this is one of my favorite posts of yours. I can really relate since having Hampton. I often worry about Daniel and I bringing him up in a household full of God's grace and him knowing Him and all of His marvelous love and grace. Thanks for sharing!! Your girls are just precious!
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