Our world is no friend to Christ or to Christ-like living, and definitely not to Christian Parenting!

That pressure alone makes raising children in a Christian manner difficult at best. Add to that pressure the waywardness of the human heart and you have challenges that need serious and powerful answers.

Left to themselves your children will wander and may never return to walk with God. If you want to raise your children in the way they should go you will need to set the path and work steadily at guiding God’s way.

By learning what the Lord desires and how to properly lead your family you will be a long ways down the road of directing your child in the way of God.

Christian Parenting is Biblical Parenting

The first source of direction for you as a parent is the Bible. We have all been raised in a culture, some of which has been good and other parts have departed from what God instructs in Scripture. So even if you come from a strong Christian family, you must inspect your parenting methods and be sure they meet God’s criteria.

This learning curve will make you first a student of the Bible to learn what God wants. Then you will need to entwine your heart with God to discern how to wisely apply those truths to your daily situations.

Many would like these two parts of growth to just be handed to them, but actually the growing process is teaching your children how to face dilemmas and resolve them in a Biblical way. So despite the frustration of not always knowing the right way, you have a tremendous teaching platform when you do not know just exactly what to do.

Christian Parenting is More than Just Insisting on Honoring Father and Mother

While many parents are quick to insist on honor in the family toward the parents, too often this injunction is more of self-service than it is concern for God’s way.

Ultimately the end goal is to teach the child how to obey God. In doing this they will learn to respect and honor their parents as well as others in life.

This learning curve is brought about not so much as by lecture, but rather by loving your child unconditionally as the father of the Prodigal Son did.

Abraham was singled out for special commendation because he would ‘command his children’ after him. This points the way toward giving clear direction as well to our children.

By loving your children and daily teaching them God’s Word you will set the stage for some powerful parenting that will reach into future generations.

This kind of learning from the Bible and studying the nature of each child will take time and commitment. But in Christian parenting you will need to be patient and diligent as your realize you are not only shaping the life of your child, you are shaping the life of your grandchildren to follow one day.

Things can get complex as you are to lead your children, love them and correct them. This job is all wrapped up in the job of Christian parenting.

Christian Parenting:  Your Relationship with Christ Comes First

Before you can command your children in the way they should go, you need to first take heed of your own life. Just where are you in your personal relationship with Christ? If Christianity is just a way of life for you and a set of rules you will not be able to raise a successful Christian family.

Your heart needs to be settled in Christ alone as the Savior and Lord. When that relationship is strong it will establish a bond of love and commitment that difficulties will not be able to break. Too often Christianity is only a drudgery that families endure rather than a delight. And that will spell the difference between success and failure in raising children.

Once you have established your own relationship with Christ you are ready to move on and focus on impacting the life of your children. But never underestimate the power of your example. It will be remembered long after your lectures have been forgotten.

Christian parenting begins with the parents having a right relationship with Christ. However it then becomes a challenge of how to bring the heart of a child along to love and honor Christ as well.

This will always involve the Scriptures having a prominent place in your home and life decisions. Your children need to not only be taught the Word of God, but they need to see you and your spouse using it to determine your decisions in life.

Having a daily time of reading and understanding the Bible will lead your children to understand that the Scriptures are not a lucky rabbit’s foot that should only be pulled out at times of difficulty. The Bible is a map for life and needs to be consulted regularly to be sure we are on the path of God’s choosing.

Next you can highlight your dependence on God by submitting all matters in prayer to Him. Teaching your children to pray and depend on God will pay huge dividends in days to come. No one lives their life without pressures, but only the Christian has a God who can guide them through the storms of life.

By your personal walk, and family devotion time you will impress on your children the importance of a relationship with Christ and instill in them a Christian lifestyle.

Christian Parenting:  Encouraging Your Child

The truth is that if we spend most of our time in correction mode we will not help our children to love the same Lord we do. Children are born wanting to please. By learning the art of encouragement you can often get more out of your children than you ever can with constant lecturing.

Yes God’s Word has is full of correction and lessons to be learned, but if you look carefully you will find it is also full of encouragement along the way. That encouragement is not only good for adults, it is especially helpful for children that need to see how to live right and how to interact profitably with others.

By modeling for you children how to handle the difficulties of life you are setting the stage to partner with them in life. Your role is not to always be the one in charge, but also to show them the way as you find your way with God. When your children sense that you are working with them, not just over them, they will respond with much more enthusiasm.

Your life experiences become powerful lessons from which you can teach your children. Don’t be afraid to use them to highlight what God taught you.

You can also teach by telling Bible stories of real life people and their struggles. Yet highlight how they found God’s answer in the midst of the difficulties. This kind of teaching will stick with the child for years to come.

If you are to be successful in Christian parenting do not underestimate the value of a good church home. Here your child will be exposed to others that will encourage them in their Christian walk. And yes, on occasion they will have conflicts. But in the church is one of the best places to have those conflicts early in life. Others church members are committed to living out their lives Biblically as well. So when the conflicts come, welcome them as great learning opportunities and your child will grow and thrive.

The best resource for Christian parenting is the Bible. Beyond that you can learn from those that have successfully walked this road before you and learned the lessons of Christian parenting.

 

More on Christian Parenting:

1. Providing Christian Parents in the Home is the Best Gift You Can Give Your Child