The Family Room blog posted a couple of short articles this week on winning your children. The first is on a defensive posture and the second addresses an offensive approach. Here are a couple of highlights.
Introductory comments-
As a father of two young boys, this makes me desperately aware that I need God’s grace to win every inch of their hearts for Christ now, while the doors are wide open. I recall closing the doors on my parents and maintaining an independent, private life as a teenager. What followed was over a decade of sin that I deeply regret. Without being driven by fear, I must tirelessly pursue my boys for Christ.My fundamental goal is to make gospel-centered living the most compelling thing in the world to my boys. This implies a long-term approach, with both a defensive and offensive dimension.
Part 1- Defensive
I must battle those other voices that want to win their hearts. Someday, they will hold the mouse and the remote. Right now, my media habits are the doorway of our culture’s images and ideas into their minds. Do I maintain a view of “privacy” that says my own media choices are off limits to outside evaluation? Am I Biblically discerning enough to detect subtle influences of worldliness, or just the obvious ones? What would those who know me best say?
How important is my pursuit of God in His Word! I cannot discern worldly perspectives surrounding my family without the light of Scripture. I cannot be a compelling example without deep fellowship with God. My heart and mind must be totally won over for Christ, even amidst a daily barrage of competing voices. My best defense in parenting is to have the mind of my Defender.
Part 2- Offensive
Let me briefly compliment those thoughts ["making memories through the little and big opportunities, the spontaneous and planned"] with two other categories: our example and our church. My hope for winning my kids’ hearts must include my godly example. My parenting strategy cannot conceive of all the challenges ahead. My sons don’t live in a bubble. And I can’t block out every stream of unbiblical messages traveling through the numerous channels of media. So I pray that my example will be used to win their hearts.
As a sinner, I cannot ultimately trust my example. But I can’t neglect it either. For the boys to be provoked to godliness by Dad and Mom, we must ultimately point them elsewhere. When I sin, I want them to know I am looking to my great Savior. Only in him do I find the assurance and strength I need for this high calling.
My wife and I cannot experience gospel fruit in our lives without the local church. We need God’s Word and His people to show our family that nothing is more real than the gospel and the authentic life it produces. We need gospel preaching that reminds our family that every other voice falls immeasurably short of the love, truth, and joy found in Christ. When my wife and I sin against our boys, we need help recalling that God is more committed to winning our boys to Christ than we are.
We need you to help us provide them with a clear and compelling picture of the truth and love of godliness. We want to do the same for you.
Are you in?