Do you want your children to follow you in faith?

I suppose in some sense my question is rhetorical in nature. After all, most of us can’t imagine anyone who would not want–desperately–for their children to follow them in loving and serving Christ. Anyone who treasures their faith–for most of us defined as our relationship with Christ–really wants their children to follow them fully in knowing and serving Christ.

The question then becomes: what can I do to make this happen? What can we do to help our children “catch” our faith?

First, live your faith. Children learn much more by what they see rather than telling them what to do. Almost all of us learn by what we see others do. We all want to follow those who live according to their beliefs.

Studies have shown that children who grow up with parents who live out their faith are much more likely to practice faith as adults. If you want your children to follow you in faith, show them a living, vibrant love for God.

Second, make your faith a priority. Following Christ does not work well if it isn’t placed first. Unfortunately, we adults think we can compartmentalize our faith. This doesn’t work well for adults, and it doesn’t work at all for children. Children must see that your faith matters to you.

Third, remove your hypocrisy. Let’s face it. None of us gets everything right. We must become growing believers who ask God to change our motivations and our attitudes.

In order to remove your hypocrisy, you must look obediently to the Scripture and critically at your own life. Children don’t do well with “do as I say not as I do.” They do very well with “watch how I do that.”

People want to follow those whose faith is real.

We don’t have any guarantees with our children. They get to make their own choices, but we can seek to help them find the true and living way.

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