The responsibility of raising children in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4) can be overwhelming. What greater obligation could God place upon Christian fathers and mothers than to mold our children into adults who live their lives to His glory?

Developing real love for God in the hearts of our children begins with our daily example. Our Father chose to reveal Himself through the metaphor of Father and child. From God’s first reference to Himself as the Father of Israel in Exodus 4:22-23, He adopts the imagery of parent and child over and over throughout the scriptures. Why did God choose to reveal himself in this way? Hebrews 12:5-11 shows us His purpose as the author describes the discipline we receive from our earthly fathers and compares it to the training provided to us by God. Therefore, God intends that children relate to Him as a divine Father through their experiences with their earthly fathers. In this way, parents literally demonstrate the love of God to their children every day. We are a living, breathing example of parental love that our children can use to understand God – how He loves them, how He takes care of them, and how He has sacrificed for them. When your child thinks of you as a parent, their impressions will be transferred to God. In this way, we serve as God’s surrogate with our children.

Deuteronomy 6:5-8 describes the process of teaching our children to love the Lord, as Israel was instructed to love the Lord with “all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Then, they were further commanded to teach their children to love Him with the same intensity through daily training. Do we fulfill this divine charge? Do we talk to our children about our love for God every day?

(This article was originally produced for the Jenkins Institute)

Kerry