by Matt Grant

I was talking with a parent the other day about a conversation they had with their child regarding Jesus’ return and what life in our resurrection bodies would be like. Their child, who is 6, became really excited at the possibility of going up to meet Jesus in the clouds.

The conversation went something like this: “Daddy, I think Christians are going to get to fly up to be with Jesus in the clouds.” The dad replied, “Wow, buddy! That’s right! The Bible actually tells us that we will be caught up with Jesus as He comes down to earth when He returns one day (1 Thes 4:16-18).” “Really!” shouted the child, “We get to fly!” “Uh huh,” said dad. “What if I’m in the house and I fly up? Will I bonk my head on the ceiling?” Dad responded, “I don’t think so bud, I think God will make it so our bodies can go through the ceiling.” “Whoa! I want to see Jesus! I can’t wait to see Jesus! When I see Him I’m going to hug Him all day! Can I hug Him all the way through breakfast and all the way through lunch?” shouted the boy. “Yeah, I’m sure you can,” said the dad. Wanting to gauge his child’s heart he asked, “Why do you want to hug Jesus so much? What do you love about Him?” “I love Him because He died for my sins so I could go be with Him in Heaven!” answered the boy.

If you’re a parent, does your child want to see Jesus? Do they know and understand what Jesus has done for them on the cross? Are they being taught unmerited favor (grace) or to earn favor by being a “good” little boy or girl? Does your child know what it means to be a Christian? Do you know what your child believes?

Obviously, to know the above you’ve got to spend time with your child in the Bible and conversation that drills deeper than how they did on their test or how to develop their soccer skills. How often do you spend time with your child in prayer, the Bible, and Christ-centered conversation? Let me back up. Do you really have a heart to see your children raised as true, heartfelt disciples of Jesus? How high of value do you place on the condition and eternal destination of their soul verses your comfort and lifestyle?

Deuteronomy 6 calls us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength; AND to impress that love for God and His commandments upon our children’s hearts. It calls us to speak of God and His commandments, including (with a Christ-centered/NT twist) our inability to meet those commandments and His grace, as you “walk by the way” or in modern day context—when you’re in the car, when you’re kicking the soccer ball around, when you’re tucking them into bed at night, or when you’re getting beat by them on their favorite video game system.

The Bible calls us to do everything to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). Could you explain to your child how to eat a jelly bean to the glory of God? How about raking up leaves to the glory of God?  Jelly beans taste good. God gave us taste buds to enjoy food. What a good God we serve. Or raking up leaves takes work. God created man to work and till the earth and it was fun, but man rebelled against God. Thus God made the earth rebel against man so that his work is hard in order to show us how sad God is when we rebel against Him. The good news is we’re saved from our rebellion through Jesus. These could be a just a few ways to turn something seemingly normal into a God-glorifying event.

Parents, I challenge you to always be thinking about how you can turn a simple moment with your child into an engagement for Christ. I challenge you to spend time with your children in the Word and Christ-centered conversation. I implore you to know where your child is at in their relationship with God and to pray that God gives you the grace and wisdom to direct them towards Him.

Mars Hill provides many resources to do so. We’ve developed a set of family devotional questions to accompany the Luke Series. You can find these HERE and could discuss them at breakfast, dinner, or before bed. The Mars Hill Shoreline Children’s Ministry is handing out take home papers titled “By the Way” (Deut. 6) to reinforce what your child learned in class at home all week. We in children’s ministry have just a few hours with your child a week. We’re here to support parents—who have dozens of hours with their kids—in raising children on mission for Jesus. These take home papers are one way we’re doing so. There are other great devotional resources outside of Mars Hill. Bruce Ware offers this great family devotional resource for starters.

Children are a blessing from God. Parents have been tasked with training their children’s hearts and equipping their minds for Jesus (Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6). Jesus came to turn the hearts of the fathers towards their children in order to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Malachi 4:6; Luke 1:17). It is my prayer that by the grace of Jesus and the love of God you as parents will do just that!