Teach Them to Love Jesus
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5
We’ve taught our sons and daughters many things over the years, often by talking to them and repeating words and phrases and the truths of Scripture, but more often, by being an example to them. When we taught them how to tie their shoes, we didn’t just say it, we showed them- over and over, until they could do it themselves, and then we praised their efforts. We taught them how to be self-sufficient, mature, and how to live with integrity.
When it comes to teaching our sons and daughters the truths of faith, our words carry weight, but our example speaks more loudly. Friends, we need to live it out in front of them. Our words don’t have nearly as much impact as our actions, our attitudes, and the demonstration of our love and commitment to Jesus being lived out in our daily life. It cannot be “do as I say, not as I do”. They’re adults. They will do what they choose. But if we live out our faith, consistently, circumspectly, putting Jesus at the forefront, always, our lives will reflect His character and our actions will demonstrate our priority of faith. Because, if we’re honest, it’s not that we want our kids to do what we say…we want them to do what Jesus says.
Think back to your days in elementary school. Do you remember the lessons? Do you recall how you learned fractions or reading? It’s possible vague details will return, but if asked about your teacher, you would immediately begin to give a description of how your teacher interacted with you and made you feel important, seen, and valued. The teacher had a lot to say, but what impacted us was their character and actions toward us.
“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” Philippians 3:12b-15
As we live out our Christian walk, are we investing more time and energy into words, or actions? Are we trying to convince others (especially our sons and daughters) that what we believe is right and true, or are we modeling it to them? We must be cautious because we can weary others by always trying to prove our point. Paul says “and if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” Paul was assuring the Philippians that by pursuing the Lord, God would make clear what is right and true. It wasn’t up to Paul and the church to correct people’s thinking. Should we speak truth? Absolutely! Can we demand or pressure others to follow it.? Not so much. It’s a heart-decision that only the Holy Spirit can motivate.
Though our sons and daughters are grown, we still feel that burden to know that they are walking with the Lord. That burden may inspire us to speak a bit too much, press a little too hard, to try and sway their thinking. But friends, we are still teaching them when we interact with them by living out our faith. We demonstrate how to be a disciple when we consistently follow the Lord, pursue personal time with Him, memorize His word and obey His commands. We model what it means to love when we are patient, kind, unselfish, and forgiving (1 Corinthians 13). We show them the strength and humility that accompanies asking forgiveness when we apologize for saying what we shouldn’t or doing something hurtful. We are not above that, at any age.
Our interaction with them says more than our words ever could. It communicates that God is what is most important to us and we will always submit to Him, making Him the head, the Lord, and the Shepherd of our hearts. He is the One to whom we surrender all of ourselves, and that will be reflected in our life, so more than in our words. Take a moment to check yourself, is that what your life demonstrates? Could others testify to it… would they?
Model Jesus to your sons and daughters at every opportunity. Let your actions speak loudly and let the Holy Spirit do His work.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:” Philippians 2:3-5
Pray that they would love Jesus authentically and that He would be the foundation upon which they build their life.
Pray without ceasing.
Action. Affection. Direction.
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8 is an oft-quoted verse that is so familiar. It’s on plaques and bumper stickers. It’s emblazoned on t-shirts and mugs. It’s a staple of ‘Christianese’.. And often we look at it, mouth the words and in our hearts say ‘Yes! Yes!’, but it’s likely we miss the real depth of the message. Oh, friends, it’s so much more.
God used the prophet Micah to warn the nation of Israel of pending judgment. But what was Israel doing that was deserving of judgment? Well, they strayed from God, followed false gods and were using their power to oppress others. They didn’t want to listen to God’s word and when Micha prophesied, they told him to stop. Their deeds were evil and their hearts were hard (see Micah ch. 2) Couldn’t that be a commentary on our world today?
But when faced with pending judgment, the Israelites were quick and ready to make sacrifices to show their repentance. But, that’s not what God wanted from them. As Micah’s predecessor, Samuel, told the Israelites earlier, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) God made it clear, through Micah, what He wanted Israel to do…and it didn’t involve sacrifice, rather, it involved submitting their hearts and lives. He said they must: 1. Do justly. 2. Love mercy. 3. Walk humbly. God addressed their actions, affections and direction.
This is big-picture thinking here. When we pray for our sons and daughters, we pray for safety, we ask God for wisdom, we pray for their relationships, we plead for protection from sin and temptation…and the list goes on. But, friends, that is all encompassed by these three things. Action. Affection. Direction.
Why is it that we struggle with these? “Do justly”. It shouldn’t be difficult, yet we hesitate, we don’t want to get involved, we don’t have time. But God loves justice and it’s a quality of His character. If we are to reflect God and bear His image, shouldn’t we be concerned for just treatment of all those who also bear Him image? (hint, that’s all of mankind, friends)
Then, we’re called to love mercy. LOVE mercy. Yet, we often mete out mercy based on who we think deserves it…and if we deem someone undeserving, we withhold mercy. But being merciful is another quality of God that we’re called to reflect. And we are ALL undeserving of His mercy, yet He gives us to us lavishly.
Here’s the thing…too often we fall into the lure of ‘head knowledge’ and we’re quick to show how much we know and perhaps we become ‘puffed up’ with our theological depth. We mistakenly think that knowledge is the ultimate mark of our spirituality and we lack mercy toward those who may not be as ‘learned’ as we. But our lives lack a reflection of the character of God. Oh, knowledge is good and important, but if we value knowledge above all, we are incomplete. There’s a name for that…it’s called being a Pharisee. Matthew 23:23 ““Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” You see, the Pharisees had a lot of knowledge, and they were quick to sacrifice….but they lacked an understanding and personal knowledge of the heart and character of God. In all of their knowledge, they didn’t reflect Jesus to others. And they lacked humility.
Finally, we’re called to walk humbly with our God. God calls us to secure our direction and ensure we’re moving with Him, not away from and not sitting idly by the way. Colossians 1:10-11 “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;”
Action. Affection. Direction. It’s what we’re called to. It’s what we must be mindful of and intentional to pursue in the context of our faith in Christ.
Let’s pray today that the Lord works in each of these areas in our sons and daughters so they are moved to be imitators of God’s character and followers of His leading in their lives.
“Lord, I pray today that You would empower (name) to act justly today. May their desire for what is right rule every choice they make. Let them be a defender of the oppressed and a lifter of those who need encouragement and help. Keep them from compromise that would desensitize them to the voice of the Holy Spirit. And Father-God, help them to love mercy. May the affections of their heart and mind always be centered on how you poured your love out to us through Jesus’ death while we were still powerless and drenched in sin (Romans 5:6-8) That that love be what motivates them to be merciful to others and demonstrate Christ in them to all those they meet. Finally, Lord, I pray that they would always, always follow after You. May their direction never waver and their moral compass always be true to Your Word and running the race You’ve set before them. I pray that their actions, affection and direction would always reflect Jesus and be a testimony of your saving grace in their life. In Jesus’ name, amen.”