The Best Gift

Here is what you have been waiting for: The Best Gift you can give your children.  And it is, of course, Jesus Christ.

The tricky part is- this is not something that is as easy to do.  We can't force our kids to love Jesus, or to accept Him as their savior.

This is not about being the perfect, Christlike parent who never makes mistakes.  We are all sinners- saved by grace (if we have accepted Him as our savior and asked for forgiveness) and we are going to make mistakes- right in front of our children.  They need to see our lives as we walk authentically with God, in front of them.  And they need to see us acknowledge our own need for a savior.  When we do make mistakes, when we do sin, they need to see us repent, ask forgiveness, and then move forward in the joy of forgiveness, not living under condemnation or guilt.  This type of authentic modeling of the Christian walk, and of our active, living relationship (not religion or rule-following) with God will speak volumes to our kids.  We cannot give what we do not have, and so, the best way to pass on our faith to our children- to "overflow" into their lives, is to be first filled up ourselves.


Of course it's important to have family nights, family devotions, go to church together, etc.  But those things will ring hollow with religiosity unless our kids see us living them out in our own lives.   


We can use every opportunity- sibling fights, honors they have received, honors for which they were passed over, birthday parties they weren't invited to, successes, failures, joys and disappointments- to point them to Christ and Him at work in their life.  Likewise, we need to use (and model for our children) letting all of those things in our own lives point us to Christ.


Above all, we need to pray, pray, and pray some more.  The Holy Spirit is the only one who can draw our children's hearts to Himself.  We can set a good example and "do" all the right things, but only He can truly reach their spirit.  The power packed into consistent prayer for our children is more than we realize.

As we enter into 2011, take time to prayerfully reflect on your parenting, the model you are presenting to your children and your own relationship with Christ.  In what areas have you done well in 2010?  In what areas would you like to grow further in 2011?