Today I want to talk about family discipleship. If you have children, then you have been given responsibility of not only their physical lives, but also their spiritual lives. I am tired of people expecting the church to teach their kids everything they need to know about following Jesus. I think it is great that the church is there to help, but it is not the church’s responsibility. It is yours.
I drop my kids off at the kid area at church every week and they have fun and learn stuff, but when it comes to them asking questions of the spiritual nature, who do you think they will turn to? Me of course. And maybe they aren’t asking me questions, but they see me all the time. They know my behavior. They know me better than my friends because they are always watching me. They are learning from me whether I am intentional about it or not.
I have chosen to take an intentional approach with them so that I can see what they are learning. This also opens the door for them to ask me questions about spiritual matters. I know my kids better than the church does, so I am going to know the best way to teach them about God and life. I don’t sit down every night and read the Bible and make them memorize scripture. Right now they are just toddlers, so I tell them stories and I talk to them. I am building a relationship in the best way I know how right now so that later they will see me as someone they can talk to.
I also plan on taking advantage of the resources offered by the church. If they don’t want to talk to me about something, I hope that they have someone else in their life like a youth pastor who they can talk to. I want to provide the best opportunities I can for my kids to get to know Jesus.
Have you ever thought about how you are discipling your kids? Are you doing it intentionally or unintentionally?
