Raising Kids That Love Jesus

If I could impart anything to my children, it would be a love for Jesus. Of course, it’s important to me that they excel in every area of life, but I know that a love relationship with God through Jesus Christ will impact their lives like nothing else can.  So, how do you raise kids that love Jesus? I know not everyone reading this is in the child raising stage of their lives, but this can also apply to our grandchildren, our spiritual children and even those God calls us to disciple. Teaching someone how to have a personal relationship with Jesus, is the most valuable thing we can ever do.

Many years ago, I taught a Bible Study to women in recovery. It was a joy to share the gospel with them and teach them how to have a relationship with the One who transformed my own life. There was one particular woman that would come into class so downcast each week. She came to me one day and said, “I listen to you talk about God and how wonderful He is and I want that….But I’m just struggling to believe. I just want to know for myself that God is real.” Before I knew the Lord intimately, this was the cry of my heart too. I grew up in the church, I heard about God all the time, but I didn’t really know Him for myself. There came a time where I began to cry out for God to reveal Himself to me, and sure enough He did. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The Lord met me in so many personal ways during that season, and through each encounter with Him, I grew more and more confident in who He was and His love for me. I said to the girl, “Let’s pray for God to reveal Himself to you, and I want you to keep praying that prayer for the next few weeks. As you take time to read your Bible and pray, even though you may not be able “feel” God, and doubts may come, I want you to ask God each time to reveal Himself to you. This is a prayer He will answer.” I knew she was committed to do this and over the next few weeks she continued to come in the same downcast way, until one week she walked through the doors, eyes gleaming with joy. She ran right over to me, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, “I know!!! I know!!! she cried. “I know that God is real!! And I know that He loves me!!!!” I was so excited for her.

Romans 8:15 says, our spirits cry “Abba Father.” When God reveals Himself to us, we know deep within He’s our Heavenly Father who loves us. We can point others to Jesus, but each person must experience Him for themselves. And God is faithful to meet each person right where they’re at. This is what I wanted for my boys when I had them. Over the years, I’ve looked for parents who had grown children that were loving and serving God and I asked them what they did to instill a love for the Lord in their kids. I learned a lot from them and from the best teacher of all, the Holy Spirit. Below I share some of the things that I’ve learned through the years about how to raise kids that love Jesus.

• Let them see you loving God: When you truly love someone, it can be seen and heard. Do our kids see us making time with God a priority?Do they hear us praying. Do they hear us talking about God? Do they see us worshiping or reading our Bible? Do they see us looking for ways to serve God? Passionate people set others on fire. I know for me, seeing others who were passionate about God made me want what they have. I remember sitting in church one day, so broken and I looked up and saw a woman worshiping with abandon. She was oblivious to all around her and had such peace and joy on her face. I said to myself, “I want that.” That’s actually how I became a worshiper. After that, I started to truly worship God and experienced Him in amazing ways.  I also, always saw both my parents reading their Bibles. They didn’t just play Christian on Sunday. They had a relationship with Him all week long. This, and how they looked to share their faith with others wherever they were, impacted my own life tremendously.

• Make church a priority: God hasn’t given up on the church. In fact, He’s coming back for a glorious bride. Going to church is important. There’s great power in corporate worship. It’s a place to serve and use our gifts. It’s important for accountability. And it’s a place we can learn and grow together with other believers. Going to church is definitely a way that we show that our relationship with God is a priority. Statistics say if parents go to church regularly, their children are more likely to go to church when they become adults. Life may get busy, but making church a priority will speak volumes to our children about our love and commitment to God AND God’s people. My desire for my own kids is for them to become adults who make it a priority to be part of a local body, serving, using their gifts and growing stronger together with other believers because I know this will keep them strong and and enable them to be productive members of the body of Christ.

• Teach them how to have a relationship with God: Let them know God wants to have a personal relationship with them, how much He loves them and wants to reveal Himself to them. I remember as a teen, I felt unable to connect with the God I had heard so much about. Was He real? Did He really care about me? Then one day, my mom bought me a book. I don’t remember the title but it was something like “Hearing God’s Voice Through the Psalms.” It taught me how to read the Bible and listen for God to speak to me personally. Through that book, for the first time ever, I began to hear God speak to me in a personal way.  Because of this, even though I had some bumps in the road in my walk with God through my teen and young adult years, I never doubted there was a God, and eventually found my way back to Him. Teaching your kids the importance of their own quiet time with Lord is valuable. From the time my boys were little, I’ve told them God wanted to have relationship with them and speak to them. I’ve always encouraged them to listen for His small still voice. Be intentional with your kids. Encourage them to look for God in life situations and talk about what they see God doing and hear Him speaking to them. We won’t always be with them to guide them, but they can count on God to be with them every step of the way.

• Give them room to grow: We want to teach, role model and impart to our kids, but a personal experience is just that… personal. If you look at your own experience with God, you probably had some ups and downs. You probably questioned and struggled with doubt at times. Maybe you even rebelled? This is all a part of growing. We need to give our kids room to grow and encourage them is their walk with the Lord. They need guidance, but they need grace too. Watching our kids go through the growth process can be scary, frustrating and even painful at times. We so desperately want good for them, but one thing to remember is that God loves our kids even more than we do. He’s placed them in our care and entrusted us to do what we can, but we must also trust Him to do what only He can do in their lives. Allow your kids to ask questions, make mistakes, work out things in their own mind and heart and love them through it. Your love for them speaks volumes and shows them in a natural way, the powerful love God has for them. They will make mistakes and stumble, but show them that God is a perfect Father whose loving arms are always open to them.

• Pray for them: Since our boys were born, Rob and I have prayed for them every single night before bed. Back in the day, I used to tuck my boys in, kiss them good night and pray over them. These days however, now that they’re teens, the role has reversed. I’m usually falling asleep while reading in bed, way before they’re even thinking about going to bed, but never fail, my boys come to my room to give me a kiss goodnight and for Rob and I to pray over them. And sometimes, they pray over me! It’s never too late to start this. I joke that I’m going to call them up when they’re adults and pray for them before bed. We also pray FOR them in our personal prayer time. We pray for their future wives, their health, their relationship with God, their destinies and whatever is on our hearts for them at the time. Prayer is one of the most powerful things we can do for someone. We’ll see the fruit of it in their lives for years to come.

• Be Real: Being real with our kids will impact their lives in a powerful way. I think of the people who have made the biggest difference in my own life, and impacted my own walk with God. There weren’t perfect, they were real. Being real, often means admitting when we fall short. Yes, even our mistakes and shortcomings can make a positive impact in our children’s lives. Admitting when we’re wrong or have made a mistake speaks volumes. It shows our kids that we aren’t perfect because no one is. We all need Jesus and His goodness and grace in our lives. Being transparent like this, gives them the freedom to make mistakes too and know that God forgives them and will help to get back on track. There have been times, Rob and I have apologized to our children when falling short. I’ve said things like, “I’m sorry for my bad attitude. It was wrong and I asked God to help me take steps to change it.” Being real with our kids is the best things we can do because it will help them to understand and rely on the power of God’s mercy and grace every single day.

These are just a few of things I’ve learned along the way. I would love to hear how you have imparted a love for Jesus to your children or those you disciple. Or maybe even something someone did that impacted your own relationship with the Lord in a powerful way. Just comment below!