This past Sunday, I was in the adult service. There was a baptism taking place at the end of the service, so at the end of the service, we brought our K-6th grade kids into the auditorium to experience it.
I was watching the reaction of the kids to what was taking place.
I noticed how one little boy (kindergarten) began carefully watching his mother who was sitting on the front row.
Before the baptism, there was a worship song. This little guy begin watching his mother intently during the worship song. As she raised her hands upward to God, this little boy was captivated as he watched his mother worship.
After watching her worship for a minute, he slowly raised his hands in worship as well. It was a captivating moment for me as I watched this little boy follow the lead of his mother in worship.
On the way home, I was still thinking about what I saw between the mother and her son. It reminded me that children are watching us.
Children may not understand everything that is going on in the church world, but they do naturally watch their parents and other adults to see how they respond to the things of God at church and at home.
This places a big responsibility on parents and the other adults at church. We must remember this...
Kids may not always be good at listening to adults...but they never fail to imitate who they are.
We must walk the talk for the sake of the next generation. Actions truly do speak louder than words.
We must worship God in spirit and in truth.
We must lead by example.
We must be intentional about passing on our faith to our children.
An example of this is found in 2 Timothy 1:5.
I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice.
Paul encouraged Timothy for the genuine faith that was in him. It was a faith which earlier had been in his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. What an example of godly parental influence.
Children are watching to see how we respond in tough times.
Children are watching to see if we pray not just at church, but during the week as well.
Children are watching to see how we treat people outside of church.
Children are watching to see if we use our Bible outside of Sunday morning.
Children are watching us to see if we spend time with God during the week.
Children are watching us to see if we really believe what we say on Sunday.
Children are watching us to see if we will "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."
Will we set a perfect example? No...we will often fall short. But even in our failures, we can show our children that God's grace and mercy will never fall short. We may fail them at times, but Jesus never will.
Our children are watching us. What do they see?
