What else is important to discuss as you embark upon this journey?
Your Kid’s Discipleship is Driven By The Idea That You Yourself Are A Worshiper.
Look at what the next two verses of Deuteronomy 6 say: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” (vv. 5-6)
Listen, and this must be said, your kids probably aren’t going to love, value, esteem or elevate Jesus if you are not demonstrating this. Their souls don’t hinge upon you but their souls are thoroughly influenced by your worship of Jesus.
For instance, as you model what it looks like to repent - owning your mistakes and asking God to change you, and faith - trusting that God’s ways are better than yours, your children will be drawn to worship.
To love God is to know God. And to know God is to first be known and loved by God. Remember Deuteronomy 6:4 which states He is “our” Lord. What does this mean? It means, you personally know Him because He has rescued you; therefore, you have experienced His immense love and faithfulness.
When I am known and loved by God, I will in turn love God! And to really love something or someone is to have every part of your being captivated by them.
When we are known and loved by God, our supreme goal will be to live as worshipers of God! Our lives will be lived out of the overflow of this immense love that we have experienced in God, through Christ.
When every part of our being is captivated by God’s grace, then every part of our lives will be heavily impacted by it as well!
What am I saying? Most profoundly, the people in your life (i.e. your children) are going to know what is most important to you (what it is that is “on your heart” - what you are dwelling on, what you are controlled by, what is dictating your decisions, what truly has your affections).
If you don’t have a desire to love and worship God, then you will have zero desire to disciple your children to do the same. This is a fact!
Now, let us pause and take time for self-evaluation.
Assess your life (and please be honest):
What do you deem as most important? i.e. What can’t you live without?
When you wake up, what is the first thing you think about most days?
Do you ever open the Bible and read the words within it? Do you ever pray to God?
Are you involved with a church? One that preaches Jesus as the point of the Bible and the only way to salvation?
Do you serve at your church, do you give to your church, and do you care about the people in your church?
Do you believe you are a sinner or do you believe that you are better than most or at least not as bad as some?
Do you think of God as being distant, non personal, and apathetic towards you and your livelihood?
Do you believe that your salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ alone?
Do you find yourself more often than not discontent about life in general? i.e. Is your joy constantly being robbed?
Are you the main character/hero/savior of your life? Or does God hold that position?
So, how can this information be practically applied? Here are a few ways to redirect our focus:
It is time to stop blaming your church's children's program for your kid’s lack of love for Jesus. It is time to stop blaming your spouse. It is time to stop blaming the cheesy children’s Bible that you picked up on Amazon thinking it was going to cause your kids to love Jesus more. It is time to take a long hard look in the mirror. It is time to turn to Jesus!
I realize how difficult this issue of intentional worship is because it’s a personal struggle. I would like to know how are you feeling right now? I do not want to leave you out to dry here. I want to hear where you are at with this? How is YOUR worship of God coming along? I want to help you.
Leave a comment and let me know how I can better serve you with this.