If Jesus Were a Dad – Part Three
When Jesus confronted the pharisees about their spirituality, he hit on one thing pretty hard. He beat them up over the fact that while their behaviour was outstanding, that their hearts were impure.
He called them white-washed tombs; Pretty on the outside, full of death and decay on the inside.
As we disciple our kids it’s important that we are not just aiming to conform their behaviour, but that we are focused on their hearts. Proverbs 4:23 says that we need to guard our hearts because our heart determines the course of our lives.
Over and over and over again, we see Jesus doing things and saying things, right before the eyes of the twelve. And then, when it’s all over and done with, Jesus gives them an explanation of what He did and why He did it. He aims at their hearts after putting the info into their heads.
This is such a VERY simple way of leading our kids towards God. Let your kids see you in the act of living out your life for Jesus and then take time to explain exactly why you have made the choices you have made.
I want my kids to know;
- why we invest in relationships with our neighbours
- why we support children in third world countries
- why we have a community group at our home
- why we wash the feet of our church family
- why we helped that lady move her furniture
- why we tithe
- why we moved across Canada to start a new church
- why we don’t watch certain shows on tv
That list could go on forever…
My point is that, Jesus didn’t just pull out a Bible and teach His disciples the words. He demonstrated, modeled and explained. He saw every teaching moment for what it was and took full advantage. And that’s exactly what we need to be doing as parents to effectively disciple our children.
The biggest obstacle to this plan for discipleship, is that it requires us, the parents, to be living intentional, Jesus-centered lives.
Good or bad, our kids will likely grow up to do what we do. They will make similar choices. They will conduct relationships in a comparable way.
I’m a believer that the why is just as important as the what. But I’ve got to be the one to model and explain. I have to be Jesus for them in order for them to know the God that I follow.
Sound simple? Sound scary?
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