Think back to some of your favorite memories from your childhood. Some of those memories might be with your dad teaching you how to throw a curveball at the neighborhood park, or they might be of time spent in the kitchen with your mom learning how to cook using grandma’s old recipes. Fast-forward to your adult life, and now you’re a parent. What are some of your favorite memories with your kid(s)? It might be when you sat and listened to them read a book to you for the first time after helping them learn to read. Maybe it’s watching them take off down the driveway on their bike after teaching them how to pedal. Memories like these stick because of the special connection you’ve made during those times of instruction. As parents, we can see the need for our kids to learn to read and write. We want our kids to succeed in their interests, so we teach them how to dribble a basketball and play chords on a piano. When we see our kid(s) desire to grow, it can be easy and natural for us to respond. It can be rewarding to see our kids excel in sports, academics or their careers. And the most important role we have is to help our kids advance in their relationship with God.
“Bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:4
When we teach our children how to seek God, we are building a legacy that will last for generations. When King David was preparing to draw his last breath, he didn’t spend time telling his son Solomon how to be a great king; he used his final moments to teach him how to be a Godly man.
David told Solomon:
“Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”
1 Kings 2:2-3
It is our privilege and responsibility to teach our kids to follow Christ. Below are three ideas to seek God as a family:
- Let them see you prioritize your relationship with God. Children will always mimic their parents. Dedicate time for prayer. Be involved in your church home. Openly talk about what God is doing in your life.
- Have regularly scheduled check-ins to discuss each family member’s relationship with God. We don’t know the health of our kids’ relationship with God if we don’t ask. Some starter questions could be: “Is there anything about God you’ve wondered about lately?” or “I was thinking about ways to hear God’s voice better. Do you have any ideas on how to do that?”
- Seek God with them. Make family devotions a priority. Read the Bible together every day. Take turns praying. Put the following verse on a sticky note in each family member’s room. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”
