Next in the “Love is an Action” series is loving your children. There are many ways to love your children and to do it intentionally and well. But today I want to focus on loving your children spiritually.
One of the most effective ways to love your children spiritually is to show them that their spiritual life is of top priority within your home. Church attendance, family Bible study, and scripture memorization are just a few easy ways to love your children spiritually. They will see that you are taking the time to invest in them and to show them how to live the Christian life.
- Church attendance isn’t always easy. Life gets busy, we are tired, the baby is crabby, and on and on the list goes. But your children need to see that giving that time to God in corporate worship is important too. Our children learn from example. What are you teaching them through your life?
- Do you engage in family Bible study on a daily basis? It is important to make this part of your family routine. Our families need to be united and focused on living for Christ and how better to stay on the same track than to learn and grow and study together. Include some singing, act out a Bible story, play “Hang-Man” with Bible names and phrases, and maybe draw out the story you are studying. Make it fun, but make it challenging. It will amaze you what your children can learn.
- Scripture memory makes most Christians cringe. But it shouldn’t. We are commanded to do it in Scripture and God will equip us to accomplish it if we try. Children are like sponges and they can absorb so much in such a short time. It will blow you away!!! Here are the passages that we started on with our children.
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10
If we start early memorizing with them it will be a way of life for them as they get older. Think of all the scripture that they could have memorized and with them no matter what this world threw at them. Powerful stuff!!!
So, if love is an action, let’s show our children that we love them by caring for them spiritually.
How do you love your kids spiritually?
All those things are key to loving our children spiritually. Our family had been reading through Children’s Bible Story books since Silas was a toddler. We have finished so many and the children have learned so much. Currently we moved on to the actual Bible. We read st least a chapter a day with them and talk it over and find out what they learned. This had been great and they are learning that the bible is not just stories! There are tons of things to learn and it can be fun and exciting.
Also we love our children through teaching them the importance of prayer. By praying for others and for our family and being honest and open in our prayer times we model something for them that could never be taught anywhere else. They see our hearts and know our motives. Though it’s not always easy to pray with infants or toddlers or squirmy preschoolers I firmly believe that they get the picture and it will be something that they remember for their entire lives.
I agree Amy, prayer is vital to loving our children and showing them that God loves them enough to listen to them as well. Thanks for the insight and additional ideas. This job of motherhood is hard but so worth it when done well.