Strong and lasting spiritual development is fostered in the family and not in church attendance or attending a Christian School.
The Apostle Paul commends Timothy’s mother and grandmother for the faith which was evident in this young man. He didn’t tell Timothy that he was lucky to have attended such a good Torah School or had a skilfully executed circumcision. Timothy’s faith was credited to his mother and grandmother.
God did not place Jesus in the care of wolves and then bring him into his public ministry. Mary and Joseph were carefully selected by God to be the earthly family of the Christ child. God wanted them to teach Jesus their values and beliefs; it was not left to chance.
Conversely, Hophni and Phineas were the ‘worthless’ sons of Eli the priest, 1 Sam 2:12. They spent all their days in the temple. They grew up in ‘church’ but their father was negligent in his parenting. God judged the future generations of Eli’s family because of his disobedient and rebellious sons.
Going to a good church and receiving solid Christian teaching alone is not going to be the key to a lasting faith in your children.
While a Child’s relationship with God is growing and until he or she has learned to trust God, decisions about life will be based on what they’ve learned from you, their parents – not from church or school.
The first 12 years are the time to build a strong relationship with your children, lead them to Jesus and set an example that they will need during the teenage years when peer pressure increases. Your relationship with them and the foundation you’ve laid needs to be stronger than the pull of the crowd.
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