Family is the most important part of a child's life.
Family today can mean so many different things. Our society continues to change the definition of 'family.' The important thing for you, as Christian parents, stepparents, and grandparents to remember is that God instructs you to lead your children to Him. Through your words and actions, your child will understand the greatness of our God, the power that He has, and the grace and forgiveness He freely gives.
In the busyness of your days as a family, it is easy to get caught up in schedules, parties, games, recitals, and meetings, and it becomes easy to forgo that meaningful family time you'd been planning on. Your children are looking to you to show them the importance of family, to show them what Biblical family should look like. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." This verse establishes you, the parent, as the spiritual leader of your child. Your ultimate goal, then, as leaders of your family, is not ensuring that your children will be successful with a high paying job
or training your child to become a pro athlete. Instead,
you are instructed to lead them to Christ, to help them understand
the hope we have because of His death and resurrection.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 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."
From the very beginning (even with Adam and Eve), God establishes
that families are created to worship, to hold each other accountable, and to point each other back to His commands. As Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, God's word is to be at the center of everything we do as a family, and as your children's spiritual leader, it is up to you to
"impress those on your children". They look up to you and yearn for your leadership and direction. Families, though they can be messy and complicated, are gifts from God.
As we begin a new year commit to Make 2015 Count by making your family a priority. What fun activities could you do together as a family? How could your family serve our community? Our church? How can you rearrange your schedule to make meaningful family time a priority?