On Children

I overheard something recently. It was a question about how you know that your children are saved. I didn't think too much on it at the time, to be honest, but this morning's reading brought that little bit back to the front of my mind. Today I read 1 Samuel 3 (and then for more background I went back and read chapters 1 and 2.) Samuel was the son of Hannah and Eli. His birth was a miracle to his mother, and when he was born, she dedicated his life to serving the Lord. When Samuel was a toddler, they took him to the tabernacle to be raised there. After reading this chapter I realized the answer to the question above. How do you know your children are going to heaven?

First, as parents you do your part to get them there. The most important thing that we can do as parents is pray for our children. Daily. Not a day goes by that I don't pray for God to bless my children. I pray earnestly that as each day passes they will grow to love God more. And the second thing that I can do as a parent is make sure that they are being raised in a Godly environment and manner. Samuel was surrounded by God. He was being raised in a tabernacle, God's love was with him at all times. We can keep our children on the right path as much as possible by making sure that they know God's love, and that they know God's rules. We can dedicate our children to God's service, and we can show them what that means. We can take our children to church with us each time we go, and give them opportunity to serve as well. Service in the eyes of a child can be as simple as helping pick up the toys in a nursery. Or during a fellowship event, the children can serve the adults. We can do everything that we can to make sure that our children grow up in the presence of the Lord. That way, when it comes time, we can confidently let them go on their own. We have done what we could, and after that, it's up to them and God to make sure that is the life they choose.

This isn't to say that we can't talk to our kids. We can talk to our children about loving God and asking Jesus into their hearts. But all the talk in the world can't take the place of showing them how to live a Godly life. Showing them that we turn to God to take care of our needs and how to have Faith in God's Greatness. Samuel is the perfect example that in the end, all his parents did wasn't enough. God himself had to place the call upon Samuel's life, and Samuel chose to answer. As parents, we need to trust that God will call our children to himself. We just set the stage for that calling.