By Janette Haak
God does not have Grandchildren. I don’t recall exactly when or where I heard that, but it is something that really resonated with me when my children were young. It is so true, I wanted and still want my children to understand that they can have a PERSONAL relationship with God because it is what they desire, not just because it is what I desire for them. My question to you is how do we do that?
Before we dive into how, we should also examine the why. The bible tells us over and over how important children are. Deut.7:13; Ps. 127:3 both tell us that children are a gift from God. There are many scripture verses including, Matt. 21:15 that remind us that Jesus wants to have a relationship with his children.
Children are our future. They are important people, not merely because of their future value, but because of their present value, little children were and still are important to Jesus.
Children are influenced by the world and by their parents… good or bad. George Barna in his book, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, writes about his research with children and families. In summary, his research shows that “by the age of 13, your spiritual identity is largely set in place.” Page 34.
So many parents desire to help their child grow in their faith, but they feel overwhelmed and are just not certain about how to do it. I understand, I felt the same way. We have so much to learn along with our children.
We at St. Luke are here to walk along side of you and offer whatever you might need to grow individually and as a family. Our goal is not to just pour information into your child’s head on Sunday during church, Sheepfold and Children’s church. We want to equip you to feel confident in training up your child and family in the Lord.
Beginning Nov. 3 and through the month of Nov. we will be offering some special classes for parents during the Sunday school hour. These classes will cover a variety of information and offer tangible ways to equip you in your families faith walk. We will also offer books for family devotions for sale; they also make great Christmas gifts from grandparents or God parents. I look forward to the opportunity to partner with you and your family as we raise the next generation of disciples.
