As I was thinking about what it looks like to disciple my children, I kept running into certain core themes from the Bible, and the life of Christ that a disciple should be growing in. Several of these themes I have mentioned in previous post. For the next several post I want to double click on a few of these core themes.
Grace is something good we receive free of charge with no strings attached.
It is because of God’s grace that He sent Jesus to this earth live life as a perfect man. It is because of that same grace that Jesus freely gave his up his perfect life in exchange for our sin. There is nothing that we could do to deserve or earn that kind of sacrificial love. It was only by the grace of God.
Example: Teaching your child about the grace of God by showing them how to extend grace to others.
One of the best ways your can teach your children grace is by extending grace to your spouse. For some reason it is often easier to extend grace to friends or even strangers than it is to the person we are married to. Make it your goal to grow in grace toward your spouse. I can’t think of a better example for your kids to follow.
Parent graciously. Show your children your love for them by showering them with good that they don’t deserve or earn. This does not mean buying them more and it certainly does not mean throwing all the rules out the window. It does mean that you need to relook at the way you parent and ask God to show you how to be more gracious as you raise your children.
Run from legalism. Legalism is the enemy of grace. Take a look at the rules you set and ask yourself, “why are those rule necessary?” Pay attention to how you respond to your children’s behavior and ask yourself, “why did I need to respond that way to that behavior?” I have found myself on many occasions correcting or scolding my children simply because I was afraid of what others might think. Parenting based only on the thoughts of others will hinder your from graciously parenting your kids. Be more concerned about your kids understanding of grace than you are about how you are perceived.
Story: Teaching your child about the grace of God by giving them a Biblical example to learn from.
The story of Gideon which is found in Judges chapters 6-8 is a story of grace. God chooses Gideon simply because God sees him as a mighty warrior. The truth is Gideon was the least likely man in Israel to succeed at leading the people of God. His family would have agreed that there was no way Gideon could lead them to overcome Midian and return to worshiping the one true God. By God’s grace, he showed favor to Gideon. Then, Gideon, because of the call and grace God had given to him, led the people to victory. They certainly didn’t deserve to be led out from under Midian’s thumb. They were evil Godless people.
Share this story with your kids and ask them:
What did Gideon do to convince God that he should be the leader of Israel?
What did the people of Israel do to deserve the leadership of Gideon and the freedom from the Midianites?
What did God accomplish through his extension of grace to Gideon and the people of Israel?
How can you extend grace in your own life?
Comments
Post a Comment