5 Assumptions About God And Why They Are WrongSample

Guess what – Kids Follow their Role Models

Assumption: Jesus is for kids

Most of my friends growing up went to church, complaining about how boring it was, especially compared to sandlot baseball or our favorite hobby. As I think back on those days, the main reason was because the dads made their kids go to church, but they themselves did not. The dads had “more important and grown up things to do.” We were being trained to think that church was for kids, that God was not relevant to life, and that doing godly things was boring. Children become what their parents or community leaders model for them.

Jesus warned leaders and parents not to guide children away from God. He said it like this: “Don’t cause a child to stumble.” The old testament prophets said it like this: model and train your children in the way of God, to walk humbly before God, to be gracious and respectful, to act justly and show mercy, to be submissive and kind one to another.

When I became a parent, I began to realize that parents often model that God is irrelevant for adults. My parents became followers of Jesus when they were adults and I remember the changes that took place in our daily lives. They broke away from their destructive family assumption that God is a kiddie crutch. For them, God was not a crutch, but a faithful and wise Father. Jesus was not wimp, but the powerful, risen savior, who frees instead of oppresses. It changed the trajectory of our family. We were more interested in helping others than in personal ambition. We started reading the Bible and talking about God so we would know God better and how to walk with him. My dad led the way. Looking back on those years, my parents started preparing us to follow Jesus because that is what they were doing. They actually loved God with all their heart. My dad was all in when it came to Jesus. I figured that if the love and power of Jesus could transform my dad, then Jesus was for me. Jesus is for adults, who make Jesus real for kids.

Model and prepare the children in your life to become adults who know and love Jesus.