Do your children know why you believe what you do?

Do your children know why you believe what you do?

There are many people today who are trying their best to raise their children with a Biblical foundation in a Christian home, myself included.   In fact, if you look at statistics today, many people consider themselves to be Christians, as many as 76% according to a survey done by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
  So why are such a  large percentage of these kids are being raised in Christian homes walking away from their faith once they get to college and/or move out on their own.
Why is this happening?
There are lots of things we could discuss for what might be causing this at the college level- liberal universities and anti-Christian teaching to name a couple, but I believe one of the main reasons this is happening is because some of these parents aren’t teaching their children WHY they believe what they believe.  They are just labeling themselves “Christians” and hoping their kids choose the same path.
There are families all over the country that attend church regularly, participate in Sunday school classes, or attend a Bible study here and there, but unless these families are actively living out their faith Monday through Saturday and not just on Sunday, and teaching – not only by example but with words and education – what they believe and why, then the children may not grow up with a good understanding of what it means to be a Christian and they may not understand what it means to have a relationship with Christ.  If that’s the case, it may be very likely that they will walk away from their faith.

So what can we do?

• Make sure that you are living out your faith – lead by example!
• Spend time in God’s word and spend time teaching the word of God to your children. 
• Spend time in prayer – pray for your children, pray with your children, and make sure your children see you spending time in prayer.
• Talk about what God has done in your life – whether it be personal things in the past, current family situations, or examples of God’s provision for other friends and family, talk about how God has provided for you and taken care of you.
• Teach Biblical truth and explain why we believe differently from other religions – don’t be afraid to teach what other religions are about!  If your kids leave your home with a good understanding of many religions as well as what makes Christianity different, they will be less likely to be persuaded to leave their faith and join something else.  (I’m not at all trying to say that you should teach them all and let them choose but make them aware of the differences – explain eastern religions, explain atheism, explain evolution, etc.   You don’t want them to get to college and be shocked by all that’s out there!)
• Teach them to be bold and unafraid to stand up for what they believe in. It’s okay to be different from the rest – we WANT to stand apart!