Teach Your Kids To Love God

11% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed anxiety (9% of males and 12% of females).
8% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed behavior disorders (10% of males and 5% of females)
4% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed depression (3% of males and 6% of females).

You parenting direction determines your kid's destination. 

Teach your children to love God.

Question: Do you have a strategy for parenting your kids? 

Read from CSB Deuteronomy 6:4–9

The Discipline Years (0-5), focused on teaching consequences and establishing the parent's authority. 
The Training Years (5-12), where parents explain the "why" behind the rules and shape a child's worldview. 
The Coaching Years (12-18), characterized by guidance from the sidelines, allowing for more independence. 
The Friendship Years (18+), where parents transition to enjoying a deeper, mutual relationship with their adult children. 

What Are We Doing Wrong?
We risk too little.
Faith building means risk taking.  
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6, CSB)

A tiny bit of faith reveals God’s eternal trustworthiness.

We rescue too quickly.
Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, Galatians 6:7.

Parents must help suffering become a life maturing experience. 

We model too weakly.
Your children don’t just become what you say, they become what they see.
He answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Mark 7:6.

Question: None of us are perfect, but if you are a parent – do you feel that you may have risked too little, rescued too quickly, or modeled to weakly in your parenting life?
What can we do better?
Expose them to the joy of knowing God personally.
We can’t force our kids to love God, but we can expose them to the people and experiences that increase the likelihood of spiritual growth.

This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ. John 17:3.

Expose them to the presence and power of God in His church. 
Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:13.

You are called to be a part of the church. 
The church is NOT called to be a part of your life. 

Teach your children to love God.

Reflection
Is there something about my past that stops from exposing my kids to Jesus’ church?
How can I be better at showing the joy of loving God?