The scriptures tell us that what we do today; the decisions we make and the actions we take, directly influence generations of family characteristics, convictions and conduct. And it influences them for good OR bad.
Psalm 78:5-8 says
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; 6 That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, 7 That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, 8 And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
So passing a strong faith to our children begins by having a strong faith ourselves – and modeling the gospel in our marriages and in how we relate to those closest to us. Passing on healthy spiritual disciplines to our children begins by having healthy spiritual disciplines ourselves.
You may think this sounds overly obvious, but Jesus didn’t just give this great commission to anyone. Jesus commissioned His followers. He gave THE great commission to the ones that gave up their past and chose to follow Him and learn about Him and change their habits and the way they thought before. He commissioned those who would live a life completely sold out to Him. He commissioned the ones that accepted His invitation to become His disciples. And so likewise today, a person has to become a disciple of Jesus before they can disciple others. That means that we, as parents, have to get along on the journey that includes a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ, as He has been revealed to us in Scripture. It also involves developing perspectives and practices that reflect the mind of Christ. Becoming a disciple is becoming a lifelong apprentice of Jesus and having the will to obey Him in ALL areas of our life, including in our family.
And so knowing that we have to become a disciple before we can disciple others, lets take a look at just what discipleship consists of. Lets take a look at just what it takes to make disciples. What exactly is discipleship anyway?
Many Christians view discipleship as some class for new believers to attend so they can learn the foundational doctrines of what we believe. But true discipleship more than just simply learning biblical truths for the sake of mental ascent. We say that discipleship is a personal and intentional process in which one or more Christians guide unbelievers or less mature believers to embrace and apply the Gospel in every part of their lives.
We talked before about how becoming a disciple involves developing perspectives and practices that reflect the mind of Christ. In order to do that, we have to spend time with Jesus, seeking to know Him and how He approached discipleship. No one knows discipleship better than Jesus Himself. He is the Master and we are His students. So we can look to the Master and the way that He discipled for guidance. And the best way to do that is reading about Him in the Bible. Thats where we can find what we need to know about discipling our families. That is where we should be getting our ideal for what it takes to be an exemplary parent.
