Skip to main content

Parenting out of the Gospel, Part 5

By

Affirming and Encouraging our children’s positive development

Imagine you are in a prayer circle at church or in a family devotion and children are present. Not only do they sit quietly and respectfully, they participate of their own will by offering sweet and innocent and biblical prayers. If we are going to let the Gospel truly shape our efforts in parenting and spiritual development we have to ask and answer an important question: “how will we encourage this child?”

The reason we should be thoughtful about it is because our answer may be the difference between drawing attention to the work of Christ in them and their work for Christ. It is the difference between seeking justification by keeping the law of God rather than receiving his grace. Our children need to live in the hope that an almighty God works through needy people, not needy people work for an almighty God. God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25).


God is pleased with us as we put our faith in Jesus and claim our dependency upon his grace, not on our performance. Drawing attention to our children’s performance rather than the work of Christ in them is another example of what it looks like to parent out of the law. If this is the way we encourage it may reduce Christianity and the church to a club, a club that they are well accepted in so long as they behave a certain way. We don't want to do that.

So how does it look to parent out of the Gospel when it comes to encouragement? Here is one example: “we are all sinners and sometimes it is hard for us to trust God and ask him for help, isn’t it? We are so glad that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and help us to trust in him. I can see that God is helping you to grow in trusting him.” This approach highlights the work of Jesus to make it possible for us to pray. It keeps God in his place as the helper and us in our place as those in need of his grace. This response invites the child to rejoice in the work of God in them while it keeps us from laying the burden of performance upon our children.

May we all have the grace that we need to highlight the Gospel of Jesus, even in the positive signs of God’s work among the next generation.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Worship Songs, October 15, 2017

By
We post these worship songs leading up to the worship service so that parents may listen to them in the house or in the car within the days leading up to the worship service. Our hope is that children will hear the songs prior to and it will prepare them to participate in worship on Sunday mornings. My Redeemers Love Hope Has Come I Will Glory In My Redeemer Blessed Be Your Name Here In Your Presence Your Glory Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest) -- Sermon Text: John 11:1-16 That the next generation will set their hope in God and not forget the works of God (Psalm 78:7).
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vendi...
Post a Comment
Read more