Most Christian parents want to pass on a legacy of faith to their children. The question is “how”?
Jim Burns, the President of HomeWord, wrote an article offering three ideas for passing your faith onto your children. He culled the ideas from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, also known in the Old Testament Hebrew as the Shema.
Be an example of loyalty to God. The Shema reminds us that there is one God and He is holy. As parents, this goes to the heart of the matter: Do our kids observe our loyalty to God?
Demonstrate your faith. The Shema instructs parents to impress the faith that God has placed in their life into their kids. With all of the great children and youth programs within churches today, many parents allow churches to “take the wheel” when it comes to their kids’ spiritual development, while they take a more passive role. According to the Shema, God specifically places the responsibility for nurturing a child’s spiritual development on parents – not the church!
Remind Your Kids of God’s Importance. The goal is that faith becomes a natural part of our kids’ lives. So, don’t isolate spiritual discussions from the daily ebb and flow of our lives.
Jim says there’s nothing more important as a parent than leaving an enduring spiritual legacy for your kids! Making a commitment to help grow your family members into all that God wants them to be should be a top priority.