Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) — 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And
when he is old he will not depart from it.
Where does discipleship begin?
Deuteronomy 6:5–9 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I
command you today shall be in your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall
bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between
your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on
your gates.”
If I tell the world about Jesus but forget about my children? We want the
best for our children. We enroll them in school, we make sure they are well
nourished, we make sure they are well socialized. We train them to be a
success. But, what about the most important thing in their lives. The one
thing that will bring them into eternal life.
The most important relationship they will ever have is the one they have
with Jesus. It is knowing they will spend eternity with Christ in Heaven. It is
also knowing in Christ we teach them to love themselves and others. We
teach them to respect others. Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through
selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others
better than himself.”
A parent’s relationship with Christ is important. Parents are not perfect but
that does not stop us from modeling our relationship, our love for God. We
must let our children see Jesus in us. Discipleship does not begin in the
church, it begins in the home.
Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be
long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”