Fathers: Help Your Children Know God

June 14, 2009
By

by Rick Warren
“I showed what You are like to those You gave Me from the world. They belonged to You, and You gave them to Me” (John 17:6 NCV).

The world is full of sons and daughters who desperately need a father who is a spiritual leader. Is it possible your kids are among them? You can become a spiritual leader to your children by developing the characteristics that we see in Jesus as He taught His disciples for three years.

Even if you are not a father, or a mother, you will be able to lead others into the heart of God by following the example of Jesus.

First, Jesus helped the disciples to know God.

Dads, this is your number one responsibility as a father. You need to help your children get to know God because eternity hangs in the balance: life or death, heaven or hell. It is your job to help make sure your kids are introduced to God.

Look at what Jesus says: “They belonged to you.” He’s acknowledging that the disciples belonged to God; and reminding us that we don’t own our kids. They belong to God. He loans them to us for a period of time in which He wants you to parent them. Parenting, like all forms of leadership, is really about stewardship. You learn to say, “God, I am the steward of these children, whom You put into my care, and I will do what You need me to do to help them achieve their purpose.”

Notice Jesus then says, “I showed what You were like to those You gave Me.” Jesus doesn’t say, “I preached. I sermonized. I pontificated. I lectured so the disciples would know you.” He says, “I showed.” He led by example. This is one of the most sobering truths about being a parent. For right or wrong, for good or bad, whether you like it or not, your children’s idea of God is going to be largely determined by the kind of father you are. You may not like that. I may not like that, but it’s the truth.

If you are an impatient and demanding father, they’re going to think God is impatient and demanding. If you are distant and detached and never have time for your kids, they’re going to think God is distant and detached from them. If you are inconsistent and unreliable, if you break your promises, they’re going to think their heavenly Father is inconsistent and unreliable and breaks His promises.

What is God really like?

• God is caring.
• God is close and aware of the details.
• God is consistent.
• God is competent.

If my kids are going to grow up knowing God is caring, close, consistent, and competent, then I must be caring, close, consistent, and competent. I must care about my kids enough to show them what God is like and show how they can become like Christ.

Over the next few days, we’ll look at six more ways that Jesus exhibited spiritual leadership. First, by helping them get to know God; then by (2) teaching them God’s Word; (3) praying for them; (4) guarding their mental growth and (5) spiritual growth; (6) releasing them to serve God’s purposes; and (7) teaching them the importance of commitment by showing His own commitment.

  • http://www.christianbooksbibles.com Heather

    June 14, 2009
    Fathers: Teach Your Children God’s Word
    by Rick Warren
    “I have given them Your word” (John 17:14 NIV).

    You can become a spiritual leader to your children by developing the characteristics that were evident in Jesus as He taught His disciples for three years.

    He taught them that the Word of God is our foundation. It’s what we build our lives on and it’s what our children should build their lives on. God’s Word is the truth, and Jesus said, “You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free” (John 8:32 TEV).

    I want my kids to be free; I don’t want them bound up by guilt. I don’t want them bound up by worry. I don’t want my kids messed up by resentment. I don’t want them to be pressured by the expectations of others.

    There’s only one way to help your kids be free: teach them the Truth that will set them free. Teach them that, when you build your life on God’s Word, then you live a life of genuine freedom. A life built on God’s Truth is filled with happiness, joy, passion, and purpose. You will spare your kids an awful lot of headaches and heartaches and heartbreaks if you teach them to rely on God’s Word as the sole authority for their lives.

    God expects you to be the primary teacher of His word and that means you have to know God’s Word yourself! Like many people, you may need to catch up by getting into a Bible study. Then, teach your children to study the Bible for themselves.

    Jesus said, “I gave them the message that You gave Me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from You, and they believe that You sent Me” (John 17:8 TEV).

  • Anonymous

    This is a good blog and good instruction. The devil has done much to divide parents and children. The adults stick to themselves and the children to themselves.

    And there doesn’t seem to be a common agenda. But if we only lost the control issue and parents thought as being freinds to their children or even freindly…

    But if we run the family like a Government and there should be control in the family, but if we learn to be thoughtful and realize that the chip may not want to imitate the old block…

    If we all in the family learn to imitate Jesus and wash each other feet and minister to each other, then there room for a difference in personality…

    So it’s not make me proud son, but help me make Jesus proud in real leadership and remind me that I should be the example. And if I fall short of it…help forgive you son when you fall short of my idea of

    of an idea son or daughter. In the end the lesson is that we are all very humans and we need to make room to when we are not so proud of what we’ve done or what others do…So we would pray on this… Ephesians 4:32.

    Passerby

  • http://www.christianbooksbibles.com Heather

    Fathers: Pray Fervently for Your Children
    June 15, 2009

    by Rick Warren
    “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9 NIV).

    Jesus reflected the father heart of God when He prayed for the disciples. As a father, or mother, you can pray that your children will focus on the five purposes of God.

    God’s five purposes for your children are the same as God’s five purposes for your life, and the same as the five purposes for the church. Jesus prayed for all five purposes in the lives of those He was leading.

    Jesus said, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9 NIV).

    We can pray that our children will live for Christ joyfully: “I say these things while I’m still in the world so that they will have the same joy that I have” (John 17:13 GWT).

    We can pray that our children will grow strong spiritually: “I’m not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:15 NLT).

    We can pray that our children will serve Christ effectively: “Make them ready for Your service through Your truth; Your teaching is truth” (John 17:17 NCV).

    We can pray that our children will experience fellowship personally: “My prayer . . . is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as You and I are one, Father . . . and the world will believe You sent me” (John 17:21 LB).

    We can pray that our children will bring others to Christ regularly: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in Me because of their message” (John 17:20 TEV).

    Even if you are not a father, or a mother, you will help others move toward the heart of God by praying for them and the purposes God has planned for their lives.

  • Anonymous

    Thank you God for this site and somewhich like your servant Heather. To further your purpose on her and them and on the ministry you’ve have given

    them. We just want appreciate what you have done and will do for us and for our sake and the sake our children and all the children of

    the world. May you God have everlasting dominion and glory. Amen.

    Passerby

  • http://www.christianbooksbibles.com Heather

    Fathers: Protect Your Children’s Mind
    June 16, 2009

    by Rick Warren
    “While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of Your name . . . I protected them” (John 17:12 TEV).

    The mark of a spiritual leader is protection, so fathers should protect the spiritual growth of their children. Jesus says, “While I was with them I kept them safe by the power of Your name . . . I protected them” (John 17:12 TEV).

    Jesus guarded the disciples’ spiritual growth by protecting their minds. It is your job, as a father and spiritual leader, to protect their innocence. This is a huge task today in the culture we live in. Children are not mini-adults and we need to protect the innocence of our children as they’re growing up. They cannot handle violence; they cannot handle sex; they cannot handle death. These things are a heavy subject for a little mind.

    So when our three kids were growing up, Kay and I were very strict with what movies they could see, what TV programs they could watch, what books and magazines they could read. We got all kinds of grief from our kids for it.

    When they were little, and could only see a G-rated movie, they would say, “We want to go see this PG movie!” When they got a little bit older, they would say, “We want to go see this PG-13 movie!” We’d say, “You can when you’re older but right now you’re not going to see it.” And they ruthlessly criticized: “Dad! Mom! You guys are so narrow-minded! You’re the only parents in the entire universe who are not letting their kids see this movie!”

    It is amazing to me how Christian parents let their kids, even teenagers, see all kinds of things they have no business seeing. We should care about their minds. My three kids have grown up and they are happy, well-adjusted kids. Why? Because their minds weren’t filled with garbage growing up; their minds weren’t filled with vulgarities growing up. They’re going to be exposed to that soon enough in life. They don’t need it at a young age. You protect what goes into their minds.





About the author:

Hi, my name is Heather Manning and I am the Customer Care Manager for ChristianBooksBibles.com. I am the mother to 5 children, two grown daughters, and three more blessings under 7 yrs old! I love working for this company because I get to talk to Christian brothers and sisters every single day and that is simply awesome.

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