In just a week and a few days it will be Easter! This is
my favorite time of the year. Spring is coming fast, even in Calgary, where
winter with its snow and cold temperatures can linger a little too long. This
year the last banks of snow have already melted in our backyard and I’m planning
an Easter egg hunt for my grandchildren.
It’s also my favorite Christian season. Christmas is
wonderful - the time of Christ’s birth. But Easter is the fulfillment of the
Christmas promise, Jesus not only dies on the cross for us but is raised from
the dead. Our salvation is complete.
This is the perfect time to teach our children about
salvation. "But he’s just a child," you might think. "How do I know if he even
understands?"
There are steps you can take to make salvation real to
your child. It's a process of planting spiritual seeds; watering them and
watching them grow. It's important to start when your child is very young and
impressionable. This is the time to fill his mind with the things of God.
It was a week before my fifth birthday that I accepted
Jesus as my Savior. In my childlike faith I told God I was sorry for my sin and
asked Him to forgive me because Jesus died for me. I asked Him to make me His
child.
Praying for our children is the most effective and
powerful tool we have. In praying, we are giving our children to God so He can
do His work in their hearts. Pray that God will put a hunger for God in their
hearts.
I have been encouraged in reading
The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie
Omartian. She writes that her children accepted Jesus early in life when they
too were only five. She shares that in their home they read Bible stories to
them, prayed with them, and took them to church regularly where they were
grounded in God’s Word.
Let your children see your soul. Share your relationship
with Jesus with your children throughout the day. Tell them why you made a
certain decision to honor Jesus that day. Sing praises to Jesus with your child
while you’re doing chores. Listen to their favorite Christian CD as you drive
them to soccer practice. Pray with them when they share their problems with you.
Don’t be afraid of their questions. You don’t have to
graduate from seminary to handle your children’s spiritual questions. It’s
usually all part of what you already have grown into. If you really don’t know
how to answer them ask your pastor or a mentor; find a book, do some research in
the Bible. That’s a good way for you to grow too. There are some good Christian
websites you could explore, also.
Meet them at their level. A child at five understands
that Jesus loves him and died for Him but he can’t grasp a life long commitment.
God meets him in his understanding and grows him to maturity just as He does
you.
As an adult you don’t know all you’re committing to when
you say yes to God. I agree with Stormie Omartian when she writes that God gives
us just enough light for the step we are on.
Some helpful books on guiding your child:
The Power of a
Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian
Raising Great Kids:Parenting With Grace and Truth by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr.
John Townsend
Blessings,
Ruth
