“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
– Deuteronomy 6:5
This year on Father’s Day, I was reminded of what a privilege it is to be called
“dad” by my four girls. Research has consistently confirmed that fathers are
essential in a child’s life. Without a father in the home, we know that teens and
young adults have an increased likelihood of struggling with depression and
anger and drugs and crime. So, dads, your role in the home is much more
important than you may realize.
If you
search the pages of God’s Word, you will discover many heroic lessons that
parents should pass on to their kids. Let me share with you three of the most
important ones. And as an added bonus, these lessons aren’t just for dads
and their kids. These four lessons are for everyone who desires to please God
and follow Jesus Christ.
Lesson 1: Trust in the Lord with all
your heart
(Proverbs 3:5). More than anything else that we want for our kids, we should
want them to be saved. And they will never be saved unless they trust in the
Lord with all their hearts. The following verse adds, “In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
One of the
most important things we can teach our kids is how to make good and godly
decisions. When they’re grown, our kids will have to make thousands of
decisions without us. So, I encourage you, from time to time, to let your kids
know about a big decision you have to make and invite them to join you in
praying for God’s guidance. Ask your kids to stand at the crossroads and seek
God’s wisdom with you. And when He gives it to you, trust Him and obey His
leading together.
2. Fear the Lord and shun evil (Proverbs 3:7). I’m afraid most
Christian parents these days do a much poorer job of teaching this lesson than
our grandparents did. For one reason or another, parents today are hesitant to
teach their kids to “fear” God. Churches used to preach more often about fire
and brimstone, and Christian parents used to be better at getting the point
across to their kids that disobedience equals pain and punishment.
Many older
adults can remember getting the belt or the wooden spoon. Those of us who did quickly
learned to have a healthy fear of mom and dad’s punishment. That being the
case, it was easier for us to connect the dots and see that we should have a
healthy fear of God’s punishment when we choose to rebel and sin.
3. Love the Lord with everything
you’ve got. Deuteronomy
6:5 tells us, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your strength.” And Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:38 that this
is the first and most important command. That’s because if you obey this
command, you will—at the same time—obey every other command. We must instill a
heart for prayer in our kids. And while we’re at it, we must instill a heart
for God’s Word in our kids. And we need to be instilling a heart for the church
in our kids. Our kids should learn to love the Bride of Christ at a young age.
I’m deeply
concerned about the younger generations of Americans. Too many of our youth are
growing up without these lessons. Studies have shown that millennials—those who
were born between 1981 & 1996—are the most unreached and unchurched
generation in the history of our country. On their heels is Generation Z—those
who were born roughly between 1996 and 2015—and early indications are that this
group is faring even worse.
Parents, if
we’re serious about protecting our kids from the pull of Satan and the pull of
this sinful world, we have to teach them to love God with everything they’ve
got. We have to prioritize prayer in our homes every day. We have to prioritize
reading God’s word in our homes every day. We have to prioritize attending and
serving at a church every week. And we have to be on our knees fighting for the
souls of our kids and grandkids.
Many years
ago, Dr. James Dobson’s dad said it well: “The greatest delusion is to suppose that our children will
be devout Christians simply because their parents have been, or that any of them will enter into the Christian faith in any other
way than through their parents’ deep travail of prayer and faith.”
Most
churched kids stop attending church regularly during their college years—and
for many, that decision is pre-meditated. While they’re attending church as
teens, they fully intend to walk away from it once they move out. They plan to move
OUT of mom and dad’s house and move ON from church.
That breaks
my heart. And I hope it breaks your heart too. The spiritual lostness and
apathy of our younger generations compel me to step up my efforts to be a
better dad than I have been. I must be more dedicated and consistent in
teaching my girls to Trust God, Fear God, and Love God. You and I must fight for
the souls of our kids and grandkids. And then maybe…just maybe…their hearts
will be set ablaze with an unquenchable love for God.
Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact
Christian Church. Please join us for our LIVE outdoor worship services Sundays at 8 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. at 17746
George Blvd.
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