God Loves Me! Children’s Spiritual Growth Depends on Parents

By Allie McComas

Every night at dinner, we go around the table to thank God for five things for which we are thankful that day. It’s just one way we share His love for us. My 9-year-old daughter Caitlin, who has Down syndrome, usually starts. She typically thanks God for things like watching Barney or that Mommy was waiting for her when she got off the bus. My 7-year-old son, Dakota thanks God for things like helping him find his Pokemon cards or for nice weather, allowing him to play outside at recess. My 11-year-old daughter Madison typically thanks God for things like getting to sit by her "crush" during assembly or that it’s not her night to do the dishes.

What’s the point, you may ask? The point is that they each have a relationship with God. My kids have a personal relationship with God. And when kids have a relationship with God and learn to thank Him daily for their blessings, no matter how little they may seem, they begin to notice more and more things for which to be thankful.

Adults tend to focus on the negative things in life. All you have to do is turn on the news and you get bombarded with the awful things that happened that day. If the bank robberies, car crashes or fires in the local area aren’t enough, they give us news from around the nation with the worst tragedies they could find on video to present for our viewing pleasure. But, that’s not what we as parents want to instill in our kids. Kids take their cues from us, and if we want them to grow spiritually, we need to make a concerted effort and take the time to nurture their spiritual growth.

It isn’t enough to just attend church or have a prayer at dinner or bedtime, although they are important. We must be living examples of faithful individuals throughout the day, throughout the week, throughout our lives.

Referencing the Bible and having conversations about the Lord should be woven into our interactions with our kids. Our love for the Lord should be top priority in our lives. That task is the most important thing God wants us to do as parents. Is that easy? No, but that shouldn’t matter. It takes sacrifice. For example, my kids have missed many school functions, activities, scouting events, camping trips, sleepovers, parties, and so much more because they happened to fall on a Wednesday or a Sunday. However, my kids know that church comes first for our family. It’s a given. They don’t even ask if they can go somewhere on those days, they automatically know they’ll be in church.

When Do We Start?
The younger the child, the more they will absorb. Young children’s minds are like sponges. They are constantly taking in information from the world around them. It is important to understand that God has given us as parents the precious opportunity to teach our children to know about Him.

To illustrate this point, look at the story of baby Moses (Exodus 2:1-10). His mother only had him for a short while and at a very young age before she had to give him up to the Pharaoh’s daughter. She taught him while she had the opportunity. Even though Moses was then brought up and taught in all the wisdom of Egypt, he still had the heart and followed the faith of his mother. What a powerful testimony to how great a mother's influence was over her young child, even in such a short amount of time.

How Do We Prepare?
We must be in the Word and study it for ourselves, so that we are prepared to teach them. This also gives us an opportunity to spend time in prayer, drawing close to God, so that we may share our first hand knowledge of Him with them.

Not only are young children able to comprehend things of the spirit, Jesus said, "Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Luke 18:17). They are organically better at understanding it than are adults and are ready and waiting to hear the Good News.

The amazing part about teaching young children about the bible is that we can rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us. He will tenderly speak to the heart of our children and bear witness to its truth.

What Can We Do Today?
Something we can do today is to read to them. There are many storybook bibles for all ages and reading levels. I recommend Egermeier's Bible Story Book, Warner Press 1969. Read scripture and talk about it during dinner, encourage them to ask questions and discuss devotionals and personal experiences. Incorporating crafts or other biblical games and activities incorporates a hands-on, practical approach to illustrate bible stories or characteristics of God. A wonderful website for bible and Christian crafts is Danielle’s Place, or you can explore the Internet for ideas on how to demonstrate God’s love to children.

The Bible says, "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:7-9). Whatever we do as parents, we must recognize that we are the living examples of God’s love. It’s up to us to teach our children about God’s love for us and what that means in their lives. After all, we are their spiritual role models.