The average financial investment you will make in your child from birth to age 17 is $233,610.00.
I think $200,000 of that may be spent on diapers. Can I get an "amen?"
But the greatest investment a parent can make is a spiritual investment in their child's life.
As parents, we are called to raise our children to love and serve Jesus for a lifetime. And like a coach, we can't play the game for them, but we can prepare them for it.
It's a good thing when our children achieve financial success. It's amazing how much more money you have when you no longer have any kids on the payroll. Can I get another "amen?"
It's also great when our children have academic success. Social success. Athletic success. Sports success.
Encourage parents, who are serious about their child's spiritual success, to sit down and create a road map that will take their child to where they want them to be spiritually 5-7 years from now.
What do you want your child to know about God when they turn 18?
What kind of character traits do you want them to have when they turn 18?
Remember this...
What you leave for your children is your inheritance...what you leave in your children is your legacy.
And remember this as well...
Your greatest accomplishment will not be something you do. Rather, it will be someone you raise.
Here are some practical ways you can make a spiritual investment in your child:
- Make church attendance a top priority and attend faithfully.
- Serve others and get your kids involved in serving.
- Read God's Word with your child and pray with him or her at bedtime.
- Talk about God when you are driving somewhere.
- Share about the great leaders whose stories are told in the Bible.
- Walk the talk. Set a good example before them.
- Explain what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
- Pray with them in the morning before they leave for school.
- Model what it means to be guided and led by the Holy Spirit.
