Shine for your children!

To all Christian parents and children's workers who pray for your children here's a massive, enthusiastic Well Done! and Keep up the Good Work! 

If you have ever doubted or worried that you have anything to offer your child or children then read on and let me encourage you.

 
We Christian parents and children's workers sometimes doubt ourselves when deciding how much or in what way to try to teach our Children spiritual values. There are plenty of non-believers in positions of authority in our Government, education systems and the media who try very hard to dissuade us from leading our little ones to Christ. That is because it is misleading to tell a child something is a fact when it may or may not be true. So for unbelievers, who do not know the Light of the World, they are wary of Him. Understandably so. It makes sense to be wary of the light if you live in spiritual darkness.
 
But we know the Light of the World (John 8:12). He lives in our hearts and we commune with Him every day. He shines bright like the sun and has told us to shine bright like stars (Philippians 2:15) so that we can lead others to Him and show them The Way (John 14:6). We are not misleading our children with false facts that deliver false hope and false expectations - we are leading them to a real person called Truth who loves them.
 
So I want to encourage you to shine as bright as a star to your children. Don't hide your light under a bowl but let them see it (Matthew 5:14-16). By doing so, you are giving them the kind of head start that many others have to catch up to later in life - if they even get in the race.

You are giving them a spiritual inheritance that you can both benefit from before you die! It's a gift to lead your children to Jesus. It's a privilege and a pleasure to lead them as a shepherd leads sheep, through lush green pastures and clear running water (Psalm 23:1-4). If you don't, you are leaving them to be led by the spiritually blind and you know what Jesus said happens when the blind lead the blind? They both fall into the ditch (Matthew 15:14).
 
Many of us are afraid of pushing our children so much that they rebel and run the other way and this is a valid concern. It does not mean, however, that you should do nothing instead.

Try doing what Jesus did. He led his disciples and invited them to follow him.(Matthew 4:18-25 & John 1:43-50) He didn’t force them but he attracted and intrigued them by modelling a lifestyle they could imitate. He taught them how to pray (Luke 11) but did not demand when or where or how many times, He left that bit up to them. He never forced a confession of faith of out them but when Peter announced Jesus was the Christ he rejoiced with Him! (Matt16:15-19) He let them watch while he prayed for people to be healed and delivered and then sent them out - all by themselves! - to have a go with remarkably few instructions (Luke 10:1-12). He showed them the Father by being like the Father in his words and actions and when they slipped up, he prayed fervently for them, that their faith would not fail and that they would have the strength to return to Him (Luke 22:31-32).

Go for it, Mum and Dad. Go for it kid's workers! In a world of spiritual blindness that squints when you shine your light, respectfully and patiently continue to lead your children anyway. Teach them to pray. Teach them what God is like from the stories in the Bible. Teach them about heaven (they love to learn about heaven!). Teach them that God sent His Son to die for them because He loves them (John 3:16) and teach them that they can have a friend in Jesus that they can’t see but who will live in their hearts and give them love, strength and courage when they need it most. Then wait for them to choose to invite Him in. 

When I was four, my Mum told me the gospel and asked if I'd like to pray a prayer inviting Jesus into my heart. I said no but when she went away I prayed it by myself and then went to tell her. When my daughter was three, she came up to me in church and told me she wanted to invite Jesus into her heart. I'd asked her before but she'd said no and now here she was, asking me of her own accord.

She said to me the other day, "I don't think some of the kids in my class believe in God." I told her how blessed she was to have parents who teach her about God and that most children do believe in God when they have someone to teach them (I read that in The Pilgrim's Progress 2 by John Bunyan).

I thought to myself, she really is so blessed that at so young an age, she already has a friend in Jesus. It's not a guarantee that she'll never rebel or turn away from God but it is a guarantee that if (or when!) she decides to continue her faith into adulthood, she won't have years of catching up to do. She'll already be a bright, bright burning star, leading others as she follows The Way.

How do you shine your light to your children?