Children are precious! Cherish every moment.
Children are very impressionable and eager to learn. What we teach them in their formative years is crucial to their eternal destiny. George Barna of Barna Research says in his book, "Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions":
"A child's spiritual identity is largely set by age 13." and, "85% of those who make a profession of faith do so within the age range of 4-14."
We need to be just as diligent about meeting the daily spiritual needs of our children as we are about meeting their daily physical needs. As important as physical needs are, their bodies do not last forever. Their souls and spirits do, however. Where they spend eternity is determined by whether or not they choose to believe and obey God. What should our priorities be with our children? What kind of music will we fill their lives with? What kind of television programs will we put in front of them? What will our church attendance look like? Hit or miss? Our choices convey much to our children about what really does and does not matter in this life.
"A child's spiritual identity is largely set by age 13." and, "85% of those who make a profession of faith do so within the age range of 4-14."
We need to be just as diligent about meeting the daily spiritual needs of our children as we are about meeting their daily physical needs. As important as physical needs are, their bodies do not last forever. Their souls and spirits do, however. Where they spend eternity is determined by whether or not they choose to believe and obey God. What should our priorities be with our children? What kind of music will we fill their lives with? What kind of television programs will we put in front of them? What will our church attendance look like? Hit or miss? Our choices convey much to our children about what really does and does not matter in this life.
There are not many things I can think of that would be more important to me than the eternal destiny of my children. We have been very intentional about leading them into truth and showing them how to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus. My own parents led by example. They were both very active in the local church, and our attendance was never optional, nor was it questioned. Nearly every night we gathered in the living room for family devotions. We would read a chapter from the Bible, then each of us would pray. One night when I was four years old, I was praying for the salvation of some loved ones when I had the distinct thought (in second person), "Why are you praying for someone else to be saved when you've never been saved?" I knew it was the "voice" of God, even though it was only a thought, and I was only four. Everything I had been taught in Sunday School and at home about Jesus' atoning sacrifice for our sin when He died on the cross suddenly became clear. I realized that my sinfulness separated me from God, and that Jesus died in my place for my sin. I knew He was the only way to heaven and the answer to my sin problem. It was as if a lightbulb was turned on in my mind. I now know it was the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.
Children are not miniature adults. Although they can come up with some pretty profound ideas, they do not think like an adult. They do not have an ability to grasp abstract concepts until they are about 12 years old. They are very literal. When we say, "Jesus is the door," they picture a large, wooden or metal thing with a handle and some hinges. Some children understand metaphors better if we make them into similes: "Jesus is like a door because He is the way we can be forgiven of sin and let into heaven after this life on earth is done, just like our door is the way into our house." "Jesus is like a shepherd because He takes care of us like a shepherd takes care of sheep." But some children will still have a hard time following that line of reasoning, so we can simply say, "Jesus made a way for us to go to heaven," or "Jesus takes care of us by giving us what we need." I would not directly tell a child to receive Jesus as his or her savior. Children often do things they are told to do just to please us. Praying a prayer in itself will not save a person, anyway, so then they would have a false assurance. Salvation cannot come without the work of the Holy Spirit. There needs to be an understanding and godly sorrow over personal sin, and a turning from sin and self to the Savior, called repentence. I do, however, tell children that Jesus is the only way we can have our sins forgiven because He died on the cross for our sins. I tell them that no one is without sin, and that in order to be born into God's family, we must believe that Jesus took the death penalty for our sin when He died on the cross and invite Him to be our Savior. Keeping it in a third person form allows us to give our child the truth without giving a direct order ("we must", or, "a person must" rather than "you must). I would never tell a child, "You are already saved. Remember when you did that last year?" Nor would I tell them, "You're not ready." If a child comes to me of their own volition requesting to be saved, I would not tell them to wait until they are older. I would encourage any and all steps the child takes toward developing a personal relationship with God. Ask them questions to find out exactly what they understand about salvation, and clarify any misconceptions they have. They do not need to know enough to write an exhaustive book on the subject, but they do need to grasp the basics of repentance from sin and faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. I encourage you to read the book, "How To Lead a Child to Christ." There is a link for it to the right. |
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Barna, George. Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions. Ventura, CA: Regal, 2003. Print.