Our children are the future of God’s Church, as intimidating as that may seem to us right now. What they become as adults is of utmost importance to the Church and to the soon-coming Kingdom of God. In their impressionable young lives, our children will imitate what they are exposed to as they grow, for good or ill. And one of the most powerful examples children will ever have is that of their parents. The responsibility of parenthood should reach far beyond our desire to keep our children alive and fed. More importantly, we have the calling as parents to show them our faith in living God’s way and our trust in Him throughout our daily lives.
As mothers, we are in many ways the first line of defense for our children in this world. We are generally at home with our children more often in their early years, and as such we have a very important role in leading and guiding them by our example. As they say, “Actions speak louder than words.” What actions can we take to help develop our children’s faith?
Point Out His Protection
When my children and I get in the car for an outing around town, we always pause for a moment to pray for protection and for God to work things out for the best on our trip. This is one way we strive to remember, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).
Many times, when we have prayed for protection, God has very clearly answered—for example, opening a wide space for us so we could safely enter the highway at a very high-traffic time. There have been other times when we could have been in a major accident, but out of nowhere someone pulled out in front of us and slowed us down before we came upon an accident that had happened just ahead. These times provide perfect opportunities to point out to our children that God is faithful in protecting us. Even if we do have an accident, but God protects us from major harm, we can teach faith by highlighting to our children that He kept us safe from something worse.
Share the Stories
Bible stories are an excellent tool for teaching our children that God is always there for us. The accounts of how God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, of how He saved Noah and his family, and of so many other miracles He used to bless His people who followed Him in faith are absolutely true, and they are beneficial for us mothers to read or paraphrase to our children at bedtime or throughout the day. These stories set a lasting foundation for our children to build upon throughout their lives, and relating them is one way we can obey the command God gives us in Deuteronomy 6:6–8: “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”
We all have stories of how God saved us in times of trouble, and our own accounts of deliverance can be powerful illustrations to our children. We can share with them how God directed our steps to be in His Church and how He provided safety and healing for us in times past. These stories will show them that God is still at work in our lives today, as He was with the people in the Bible.
One example my children love to hear is how, when I was a toddler, I crawled through my grandmother’s kitchen and pulled myself up on a chair where a large metal rotating fan sat running. As I inadvertently unbalanced it, it fell over towards me, but before it could crush me, something unseen moved the fan over and it crashed to the floor a couple of feet away from me instead. My mother was there to witness this event taking place, and she shared it with me as a child. This helped build my faith.
My children also love to hear stories of how God protected them from disaster. For instance, my oldest child experienced a similarly close call. One day, I was cleaning the living room and had left the vacuum cleaner standing in the middle of the room while I dusted elsewhere. My daughter, who was still very new to walking, toddled over to our vacuum cleaner and grabbed hold of it. She began to lose her balance and held on to the heavy vacuum, but it was not stable enough to support her. I stood across the room, frozen in fear, watching what should have been a very bad situation. It was as if everything happened in slow motion: She fell backwards, the vacuum falling with her—but instead of landing on her as it should have, it turned slightly and fell beside her. She rolled over and sat up as if nothing had even occurred—but, as a mother with a pounding heart knows, something big had just happened.
These are seemingly small examples of God’s protection, and we all have many more stories of how He shielded us from harm in more serious situations—it is important for us to share these happenings, large and small, with our children. These stories will increase their faith, help them see how God protects His people in bad situations, and be a guide for them in the future as they face their own trials and need His protection. We read, “The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me” (Psalm 116:6). From the memories we share with them, our children will learn that they can rely on our Father in Heaven in any situation, small or great.
Stop and Give Thanks
We as mothers must be vigilant to teach our children that when we are protected or healed by God, we should not forget to stop and tell Him, “Thank You!” Sometimes protection comes instantly and it is easy to remember to be grateful, but then there are times when we don’t realize until later that God watched over us in a situation.
Healing may happen immediately, but it may also come gradually, over a long period of time, and the fact that we have been healed may not come to mind until sometime after. It is especially important in such times to teach our children to recognize that we should thank God for His mercy. We don’t want to be guilty of ingratitude when God has blessed us with His protection and healing. Christ’s healing of the ten lepers gives us a good example of gratitude and ingratitude:
Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:12–19).
Learn from Their Faith
As mothers, it is very rewarding and encouraging when we begin to see in our children the evidence of faith that we have worked so hard to instill. For example, my children are good at reminding me if I forget to say a prayer before leaving the driveway or before a lunchtime meal. Then there are times when they come to me to describe how they prayed about a problem and God answered them with a solution. When they are taught to look, your children will begin to see situations where God answers their prayers and protects or heals them, and they will point these answered prayers out to you. Sometimes it is they who teach us through their example of faith.
We see that God rewards our children’s faith because He has a tender spot in His heart for them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Luke 18:16–17).
We as mothers are often our children’s very first representation of how faith in God will help them deal with the challenges they will face in life. As they grow, they will see our reliance on God and our gratitude for His blessings of protection and healing, and we hope they will want to follow our example—patterning their lives after ours. Scripture shows us the faith of Abraham, after which we should mold ourselves: “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:20–22).
It is our God-given job as mothers to live the way of faith and to give our children’s lives a better chance for success by teaching them dependence on God for everything in their lives. We can teach them “living faith” every day by living it ourselves, and we can teach them to be grateful for the blessings that the right way of life bestows on us. With God’s help, we can teach our children that faithfully living His way truly works.