Children are sponges. They soak up everything and their simplicity has something of the Divine. Jesus said, "let the children to come to me, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like a child." (Matthew 19:14). Children are impressionable and believe easily. The world has not tainted their minds with the lies of Darwinism and Humanism yet. For parents the early years of childhood are pivotal for setting the precedent of following Jesus. Children need to see their parents praying regularly, they need to be read the Bible, and need to attend a Church or gathering of believers to meet other Christian kids.
Parents have a duty to raise their children in the faith. Many committed Christian mom and dads start out with the intention of teaching their kids about Christ. They may even have the child baptized and committed to Christ in a ceremony with a Pastor presiding. But often parents become lazy and they forget to reinforce the faith. The children begin to branch out and make friends with unbelievers and now the influence of unbelief and disbelief is in their life. This is inevitable, but parents do not just have to hand their child over to the devil! It is the duty of mom and dad to explain to their child that their friends do not believe and to not follow their example in such matters. It is incumbent on the fathers and mothers to teach their children to seek Christ daily! Sunday School is not sufficient to saturate a kid's soul in the Spirit of God. Sunday School should just been another place for them to learn about the Lord.
In addition to being an example, parents need to show their children how to access the Lord through prayer. It is the duty of moms and dads to teach their kids how to know Jesus. It should be that by the time a child reaches the teen years they have no excuse to not have known Christ! This means parents need to do their due diligence and check up on what their children are involved in. There are TV shows, movies, and video games that teach anti-Christ messages and pagan religions. It is important to censor these programs and games and consider even denying them in your household. At the end of the day what matters more? Your child had fun but is now a teen and going to hell or you deprived them of devilish entertainments and they love Jesus?! Clearly it is the latter, that they love Christ!
Fathers and mothers cannot slack on the spiritual. They need to be seen as a unit in Christ. The children need to see your sincerity of faith. In the end kids will decide if they will follow Jesus or not at the age of accountability (typically 10-12yrs of age). Until then you are responsible to "train them up in the way they should go, so that when they are old they will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6). Kids need to see an excitement about the Lord. Not endless religious rituals and traditions with sour faces. Its important to lead youths, but also to listen to them. For when they pray or speak about spiritual things, you will find great insight in their simple but true statements. Most importantly show them the love of Jesus Christ and teach them to receive and seek that love.
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