Teaching Your Children About Jesus

Today I want to focus on how to help your child better know Jesus so that they can live like Him. I am going to share how we can help our children understand Jesus and some of his most important character qualities.

Two ways to help your children learn about Jesus:

1. Reading/hearing stories about Jesus from the Bible. Stories are powerful things. Stories have the ability to grab our children's attention, while teaching them the character of Jesus. What I am looking for as I share stories about Jesus with my boys is for a story book bible that makes connections between the stories and doesn’t leave out the messy parts (Jesus came to minister to real people, that’s messy). I have found both of these things in The Jesus Storybook Bible (4-8 yrs), The Action Bible* (9- pre-teen), and  The Message (13-18). For teens I would recommend starting with the book of John. 
2. Show them Jesus. You have probably heard it said that you maybe the only Jesus that people see. When it comes to your children I believe that Christian parents are the Jesus that their kids see the most. Your life following up on what they are learning about Jesus from the Bible will be the most powerful message your children hear. 

Three character qualities of Jesus I want my children to know:

1. Love- Love was what motivated Jesus. It was his driving force. It was the lens he saw the world through. Love is what Jesus was living when he walked this earth. Jesus called his followers to follow his example in Luke 10:27 when he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
2. Compassion- Jesus’ love caused him to be compassionate. Not just to the people who it was easy to show compassion to, but to anyone in need. Jesus really saw people. He understood who they were and what their brokenness was and he chose to step into their life and show that he cared. 
3. Sacrifice- Jesus’ love and compassion drove him to sacrifice himself for our benefit. Jesus willingly humbled himself because it would change our lives. I want my kids to know Jesus’ sacrifice and have it change the way they live.