Teaching Your Children About the Love of God

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:17-18

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” St. Augustine
  • Good morning my friend! We all want to be moms who point our little ones to Jesus, don’t we? Let’s get some practical ideas on how to do this today!
  • Read Ephesians 3:14-19 and let this passage sink deep into your heart. God loves you; He truly does!

Teaching Your Children About the Love of God

Do you have a hard time comprehending God’s love for you? At times, our children struggle with this concept as well. Though children have a special faith that we are called to emulate, they also live with a multitude of easy information at their fingertips. Far-off places, mysteries of nature, monumental events in history, all of these are just a library trip or mouse click away. Not much is left unseen, and few mysteries are left unsolved. Knowledge about any subject can be easily obtained and experienced, and the concept of faith in something they cannot see is often foreign.

Because of this, experiencing God may not be easy for our children. They can neither see nor touch Him. They will most likely never audibly hear his voice and cannot physically climb up on His lap for a hug after a hard day.

We need to be intentional in teaching our children about God’s love and in helping His love become tangible to them (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). The truth is it takes a lifetime to learn about God’s love. It is something we are all still growing in, but wouldn’t you love your children to be leaps and bounds ahead of you in this area? Me too, sister. We must encourage them to develop habits that will enable them to grow in their understanding and acceptance of God’s love as they mature.

While I was praying about how to be more intentional with my kids in teaching them the love of Christ, God directed me to simply look in His Word. The Bible has answers to all the questions of our heart (2 Timothy 3:16-17)! So, check out Ephesians 3:14-19 again. Let’s pick apart the first few verses for ideas on how to really instill the love of Christ in our children!

  • “Kneel before the Father” (vs 14) – Have consistent times every day to stop and pray with your children. It is so easy to just rattle off a prayer and go about your day, but try to focus on truly talking to God from your heart. Show your children what it looks like to have a real conversation with their loving Father. They need to learn how to pray from us!
  • “The Father, from whom every family derives its name” (vs 15) – The Bible tells us that God is our Abba Father—our Daddy. Talk to your children about how God is the most loving, perfect Daddy they could imagine!
  • “Strengthen them with power through His Spirit” (vs 16) – Teach them about the Holy Spirit! Oh, how I want to teach my children about God’s amazing power that lives in them! A good start is to simply read a Bible passage about the Holy Spirit and ask your children what they think it means and how it applies to their walks with God. Show your excitement about the Holy Spirit and pray that the Spirit will move in a mighty way in your family and in the hearts of your children. Here are a few passages on the Holy Spirit, but search online to find more: Acts 2:1-5, John 14:16-18, and Romans 8:5-6.
  • “Christ dwells in your heart through faith” (vs 17) – The primary tool that will bind our children’s hearts to the love of God is faith. Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” It is so important that we teach our children how to form the habit of studying and applying God’s Word in their lives! This can begin by us reading God’s Word to them. As they get older, teach them tools to study God’s Word themselves!
  • “You, being rooted and established in love” (vs 18) – Our children will become rooted in love when they experience our Christ-like love for them! Mamas, we need to work on our kindness (Hosea 11:4) and on being “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).

Sisters, I encourage you to try a couple of ideas this week and to pray that God will direct you in leading your little ones into His loving arms!

Blessings and Love,

Tara Davis and the Help Club for Moms Team

Questions to Ponder

  • Ask your children about their views on God’s love. What did they say? Let these questions stir deeper conversation. Do not be dismayed by doubts that children, especially older children, express. We are their safe places, and becoming a disciple of Jesus is sure to come with doubts and questions along the way. Keep pouring into your children and speaking Jesus’ truth to their hearts!

Faith-Filled Ideas

I love how Ephesians 3 talks about the immeasurable love of God. My favorite part is verse 18, in which Paul tells us that he prayed for the Ephesians to have the power of the Holy Spirit to grasp the fullness of God’s love. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to comprehend the magnificent love of God! We can teach our children about God’s love every single day, but without a move of the Holy Spirit within them, they will not be able to understand this amazing love. Therefore, our most important job as parents is to pray, to get on our knees on behalf of our children, and pray that they will know the power of the Holy Spirit and will be secure in the great love of their Heavenly Father!

 

This writing comes from our book “The Wise Woman Abides.” You can find it HERE!

Tara Davis
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