Raising Disciples

It is a huge task to raise a human being well, shaping them to reflect the God that made them to bring honor to His name. Though Jesus didn’t raise a family, he did shape the lives of his followers, and He didn’t get to start from scratch so He had to re-train, re-teach, re-program them. He was able to do so by spending time with them, grabbing hold of every teachable moment, telling stories to help them understand and shedding light on the things they had misunderstood from their own childhood. We can learn much about leading our kids by taking a look at the way Jesus interacted with the disciples to get them to follow Him.

1.      Jesus talked. The disciples followed because they spent time listening to Jesus. What are you saying? Make sure that there is time in your busy life for your kids to sit and listen to you telling them about a God that loves them; that they are His masterpiece created for a special plan and that it is in following Him that we discover that plan. Talk to them about what you are learning about being a God follower. They won’t learn nearly as much by watching you as they will if they are also hearing about God walking with you on your journey.

2.      Before they followed Jesus, they had heard enough to trust Jesus so when Jesus asked to borrow their boat to push back from the crowd so He could continue to teach, they were willing. Does your lifestyle and your words align so that your kids are learning to trust you? Drop the “do as I say, not as I do” life-style if you want to lead well.

3.      The disciples were willing to do something that didn’t make any sense to them (fish in the heat of the day) simply because Jesus said so. There are things that we don’t understand and even more things that our children don’t understand, but obedience that is born of trusting Jesus, not just a list of rules, is transformative.  What do your kids see in your life to help them grasp the blessings of doing life according to Jesus’ teaching? Tell them stories of when you followed even though it didn't make sense to you. If you don't have any of those stories, keep listening and obeying. They will come.

4.      The would-be-disciples dropped their nets, their livelihood, to follow Jesus because they believed He was the real deal and whatever they sacrificed, it was going to be worth it. When we reach the point of total surrender in order to follow Jesus, the lives of our children will be greatly impacted.

We cannot force our children to follow Jesus, but we can certainly set an example for them. Don’t live your life with one foot on the path with Jesus and the other on the path with the world. That sends a definite message that Jesus is not trustworthy enough to be followed wholeheartedly… so why should they want to follow Him?

Lord, help us to trust you more; to actively listen to you and follow where you lead us. Give us boldness to share openly our journey with you so that our children will learn who You are and desire to follow You, in total surrender.