If You Don't Teach Them, Who Will?

A friend of mine told me after our first child that my mission field was my children.  I knew it, but I just didn't think it was enough.  I mean I had dreams to live.  Places to go.  Someone to be. Throw in a few more years and a few more kids and I certainly found out which someone I was going to be!  It was then that life seemed a little out of control.  4 kids.  Are you kidding me?  God, you trusted us with 4?!  That's when the view of our children became more than somebodies you have, they were gifts from the hand of God, so what are we going to do with these gifts?! 

If God is important to me, it is my job to impress His importance on my children. They ARE my mission field!

Deuteronomy 6:5-9  ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I take my roll as a mother very seriously.  I'm not even great at it...which means I'm definitely not claiming our children are perfect because they are not, (hang around for a bit, you'll see, we're normal. Usually a mess.) but God has given me a passion for raising my children to know the Lord and impact the world for Jesus. Even imperfect, He can use us.

Children impacting the world for Jesus. That is not something I can make them do.  It's not up to me to make sure they are being perfect and making perfect choices.  But it is up to me to do my part in telling them how good God is, what He has done, why they matter to Him, why He needs to matter to them, the importance of reading their bible and praying, staying close with Him, telling them Oh, How I Love Jesus and leave the rest up to God.  They need to know these things.

Your kids need to know these things.  We live in a generation that God is whomever you chose it to be...and that's not right.  There is ONE God who matters. One God who made a way to enter Heaven.  Only ONE who wanted you here and gave you life. No other god did that.

If your children (or you) don't have a cemented understanding of who God is, they will easily turn to the left or to the right.  Joshua 23:6  We need to exercise in the Word of God so we build spiritual muscle - so we can know who He is, what He has done and how to stand firm against the evil one. 

If you have chosen Him, you have a responsibility to teach your children about Him.  Don't take that lightly.  If you don't teach them, who will?

Joshua 24: 14-15 "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.....but if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.....but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."