That they would learn about mercy, but never know the One who bestows it.
That they would think worship is something that just happens on Sunday mornings and not every minute of their life.
That they would just up and walk away from church one day and never return.
No, no, no.
I’m with White on this one. If that is the definition of church kids, then I don’t want to raise them either.
I want to raise kids who find Jesus at church, but also see Him at home, who take Him with them to school, on the sports playing field, to college, and into their careers and marriages. I want to raise Jesus kids who become Jesus adults.
White continues:
I want to raise Jesus kids.
That they would come to church BECAUSE they know Jesus.
That they would see themselves as apart of the church, the body of Christ. That they would work together with their fellow believers to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the community they serve.
That they would see themselves in the story that was written at the beginning of time.
That they would look to Jesus when they make a mistake and be overcome with gratitude at the grace they are given.
That they would wake up in the morning thankful for the day and lay their head down every night assured of their eternal home.
That they would face the storms of life tethered to the One who came to save them.
That they would know that they never walk alone and their lives are being held in the hands of God.
White wasn’t finished there, so I encourage you to check out her page and read the whole thing. You will not regret it! As I read White’s words, I was also reminded of the words of another favorite blogger of mine, Melissa Edgington of Your Mom Has a Blog. Her blog title may be funny, but one of the things I love about Melissa is that she gets up in our faces about parenting our kids with eternal goals.
In a recent post of hers entitled A Plea to Parents, Melissa got real about what our ultimate parenting goal should be, and it is NOT raising church kids.
Our ultimate parenting goal should be that our children come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ and walk with Him daily. Her words convicted me to be even more intentional with teaching my kids that life with Christ is the ultimate goal. This paragraph especially brought me to my knees:
I implore you, parents. Examine yourself. If you do not feel a sense of urgency in the training and spiritual development of your children, if you do not provide them with a church family and teach them God’s word, if you do not feel utter devastation at the thought of them living without Christ and dying without hope, then you have no reason to feel assured of your own salvation. It’s possible that you were made to believe at some point in your past that you had a true encounter with Jesus, but you actually only had an emotional experience with no real repentance or faith in the Lord.
It is reasonable to deduce that a true follower of Christ could not and would not fail to teach her own children how to become Christians.
I mean…you ALL should really read the whole thing. It will snap your parenting priorities into shape, and if it doesn’t, you should probably be worried.
I want to thank these two ladies for their candid words on raising our children to love and pursue Jesus. If you’ve got church kids, it’s time to shift your focus to raising Jesus kids. With His help, you can do it, and it will be the best thing you’ve ever done.
