“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
If God has given you children to raise, He has trusted you with a heavy responsibility. Part of this responsibility is to teach your children about Jesus and encourage them to accept Christ as their personal Savior.
It is, of course, impossible for any person to determine where someone else will spend eternity. Only the individual person can decide that. Whether or not heaven awaits at the end of a person’s life is based on his or her belief in the Lord Jesus. However, as a mother, you have the responsibility to teach your children how to receive forgiveness for sins and accept the gift of eternal life.
Parents sometimes like to pass off that responsibility to others. We send our kids to Sunday school and Christian day school or Vacation Bible School. We depend on the pastor and the youth leader to teach our kids God’s Word. But the main person responsible for your children understanding the Word of God is you!
Here are some important essentials:
Pray that your kids will be interested in God.
Pray that they will ask questions about Him.
Be ready with the correct answer when they do.
Read the Bible to your kids.
Pray with them.
Tell them when God answers your own prayers.
Tell them how you came to know Christ.
If you are not sure how to receive the gift of eternal life, or if you are unsure how to explain it to others, find out. You are responsible to teach your children the way they should go.
Kimberly Snider is a missionary to the Philippines.
From “Moments for Moms,” a free email subscription.
Copyright (c) 2005 Women’s Ministries of the Assemblies of God.
http://www.ag.org/womensministries