One of the greatest tasks of any adult is helping helpless human beings grow into responsible and capable adults. Yet, many adults have no clue and little support in achieving this goal. In many ways the church already offers support through offering Children's and Family Ministries. However, the church is constantly asking why do so many of our children either look like the world or leave for college and drift away from the Faith. Why? Because we have been so focused on getting adults to act Holy, we have neglected to teach them what it means to live a life connected to the Creator.
Acting Holy and living Holy are two entirely different ways of living. We have majored in acting Holy, so no need to go there. But, how do we live Holy?
Holy living starts with authentically knowing who you are and what you believe. It matters not that the person sitting next to me believes I am Holy. Because if I am being authentic I'm not and quite frankly neither are they. Romans 3:10 tells us "there is no one righteous no not one". It is completely inauthentic to act as if we are. Our right standing with God the Father, only comes through accepting the sacrafice of Yeshua the Messiah who came to Earth to be our Passover Lamb. Slain by the sins of Adam and everyone who will ever walk the Earth except the Messiah Himself.
If I spend my life acting like I am something I am not my children will see through it. And quite frankly want nothing at all to do with it. Who could blame them?
What needs to happen is every person who loves God needs to take a step back and examine their lives to see if what is required is evident and how.
Micah 6:8 states quite clearly what is required.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love [a]kindness,
And to walk [b]humbly with your God? (NASB)
Authentic living starts with acting and living your life according to your beliefs and values. This is what it means to do justice. Our places of worship often fail to get people to examine their own beliefs. They tend to tell us what to believe. This causes people to try and live what they hear rather than what they truly believe. This is the crux of the problem. People are trying to live their Iives based on what someone else's beliefs. Children pick up on this and relate all of Christianity to being false or fake.
Similarly, patenting education starts with helping adults to understand their own beliefs and values then begin to line up their actions accordingly. In order to build strong relationships with their children adults need to be "real". This means to say what they mean, by living it out in front of them day in and day out. Acting justly as God requires.
Churches need to get involved in Parenting Education to teach adults to live justly. Churches are the place where learning to live justly is paramount to living out your faith in an authentic manner. It is what has called me to work daily to act justly. It is why I ...
Believe in Parenting
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