Your Behavior

I Peter 1 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,  but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

One of the best ways we can encourage our kids to be obedient to us is by being obedient to Him.

If we require truthfulness in our kids, we must not be found lying on the phone to friends and bosses.

If we require integrity in our children, we must not be found cheating on our taxes and on our spouses.

If we require trust in our kids, we must show them how we trust God in all things, not just the good times.

We have to be obedient children to our heavenly Father, to demonstrate, so that our children will follow suit in obeying us and Him.

That’s the way it works.

Obedience

Colossians 3 says 

Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.  Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

I always told my children that I wanted them to obey me, not because they feared me or were afraid of disappointing me, or even because it was the right thing to do.  I wanted them to obey because they had a relationship with me of trust, choosing to believe that I knew best and that life would come from that obedience.

However, when we exasperate (infuriate) our children by pressing them with our thumbs just because we have the power to do so, or we demand their obedience “or else,” we are not cultivating relationship.

Yes, there are times when our children must obey whether they understand or not.  But we are to love our children, train them, require obedience and have a relationship with them.  We can talk, care for, listen to, and instruct them in love.

Yes, they won’t like it at times and they will have to make a choice to obey.

But don’t make it about scaring them or threatening them.  

Make it about loving them and Him, first.

Prove It

Philippians 2:15 So that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

Blameless

Innocent

Above reproach

Lights in the world

If others were to describe your life as you show it to them on a daily basis, would they use these words and phrases?

If we are to be different, and if we are to be attractive to others, we have to be set apart and above the world and all of its evils.

The only way we can do that is to abide in Him and in His presence daily.

Imitators

Ephesian 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 

My grandson Gideon is about 17 months older than his sister.  As she began to talk and walk, she started copying everything he did.  If he jumped, she jumped.  When he sang, she sang.  What he ate, she ate. 

Kids are imitators.  It’s how they learn.

This verse is telling us to be like that – with God.

Instead, we tend to imitate others in word and deed and attitude and action.  That’s not wise.

We are to imitate God in love and mercy to all – without reservation.

If he forgives, we forgive.

If he loves, we love.

And he does….

Be Mature

I Corinthians 14:20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

We are told to come to Christ as a child.  We are to have childlike, trusting faith in Him.

This verse says to be like an infant as far as evil goes.  Infants are amazing, aren’t they?  Their skin, their smell, their sweetness – it wins us over – and then they mature and develop attitudes.

As our infants mature into children then into teens and next into adults, we hope their maturity manifests in becoming wiser and wiser with age.

It’s no different as we follow Christ over the years.  

We should become more faithful, more assured of His presence, and mature and wise in our response to life and to His voice.

How silly it would be to expect our children to remain infants.  They are created to grow and mature.

And so are we.

Little Children

Matthew 19 says But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Kids were coming to Jesus, and Jesus’ followers rebuked them and tried to send them away.  Why?  Because his followers  were stupid. 

They didn’t realize the value of children to the heart of Jesus.

In fact, Jesus encourages children to come to him and tells his disciples that His kingdom belongs to these children.

Children came to Jesus to listen, to feel his touch, to look into his loving eyes, and to find out what pleased him, because they had hearts that want to be accepted and pleasing in his sight.

When we lose that sense of wonder and obedience and awe, we are in sad shape.

He invites us all to come as children, to sit at his feet, to linger there and play, and to look into his eyes of love and know…that He is love and we are loved.

This enables us to then love others as we are loved.

Good Gifts

Matthew 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Even the best gifts and the best attempts at giving by earthly fathers pale in comparison to the gifts our Father gives to us when we ask.

I’ve given my kids gifts that I think they will love, only to realize later that what I chose probably wasn’t the best idea for them.  I’ve also realized that there were some things I wish I’d given them when they were growing up, that I failed to give!

We do our best.  And God takes care of the rest.  Because he’s like that.

If we feel as though we don’t know what to give, that we haven’t given enough, or we’ve even given too much – God can step in and give exactly what we need to us and to our kids.

There are things in my life that I received that I didn’t want, and they ended up being a huge blessings – like kids!  And there are things that God has blessed me with daily that I fail to stop and give thanks for, like health, vision, joy, etc.

His gifts are endless, they never stop coming, and they’re just what we need – even if at first we think they don’t “match” or they don’t “fit.”