By loving your children in the following ways, you will be taking important steps toward the goal of turning the hearts of your children to Christ.
Is it a guarantee that all will go well in terms of seeing your children respond by loving the Lord, your wife and you in the process?
Answer: of course not. Nothing is: but it most definitely reflects three worthwhile efforts.
Put these on your high priority list not only as ways to love your children as a Christian father should, but as practices that will serve to love your children *to* Jesus:
First: Love the Lord.
Second: Love your wife.
And Third: Love your children.
--- Love The Lord ---
You love your children by loving the Lord first. In other words, model a priority way to live.
Model as much as you can according to what you know at any given time in your life.
Do what you can,
When you can,
While you are involved in the learning process.
--- Love Your Wife ---
We model the love of Jesus to our children by loving our wives as Christ loved the church (See Ephesians 5).
And here are five ways to model such love.
1. Honor.
Honor her so the kids know and feel that you honor her.
In other words, you want them to feel the honor in their hearts.
2. Compliment.
Be complimentary toward your wife “from the inside out.” That is, compliment your wife both inside and outside of the home.
And do not forget to get rid of those “cut down wife jokes.”
3. Defend.
Defend her in relationship to others. Let your children see you defend her in public.
Defend her within the confines of your own home.
4. Pray.
Pray for her.
Let the kids know you pray for her.
And initiate prayer for her with your children.
5. Remember.
Remember her “special things.”
Her special things could be special days, events or concerns.
Show the kids that “When its special to mom, its special to me.”
--- Love Your Children ---
Remember these key concepts as you seek to love your children to Jesus. Meaning: love them in such a way so as to prompt their seeking to love the same Jesus you know and love.
Key Concepts
1. "Admit and Ask." Admit when you are wrong. Ask forgiveness when you are.
2. "Forgive." Forgive your children when they fall short.
3. "Affirm." Affirm your children at all times!
** Admit and Ask **
Putting it simply, you will be loving your children to Jesus when you:
Admit you are wrong,
Ask forgiveness when you are,
And truly ask with no excuses: just ask.
** Forgive **
Forgive your children when they fall short -- truly forgive.
Don’t bury them alive by degrading them,
Being on a rampage,
Or not listening in anger.
** Affirm **
Affirm your children like crazy.
Affirm what they try,
When they fail,
And everywhere in between.
Just affirm.
--- How Are You Doing? ---
Why take a reflective moment and rate yourself on the 1 to 10 scale below?
(1 = awful; 10 = excellent!)
“Am I modeling Jesus as I should?”
I would rate myself here as ____.
“Am I loving my wife as I should, realizing that in doing so I am modeling love for Jesus in the process?”
I would rate myself here as ____.
“Am I loving my children to Jesus by ‘admitting, asking, forgiving and affirming?”
I would rate myself on “admitting” as ____.
I would rate myself on “asking” as ____.
I would rate myself on “forgiving” as ____.
I would rate myself on “affirming” as ____.
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