In Top Tip for Raising a Mature, Godly Child, I promised to share tips for how to disciple your child. A well discipled child has a much better chance of making more mature, godly choices. As we saw when Jesus discipled his Apostles, there were some mis-steps along the way. One (Judas) even decided to reject everything Jesus had tried to teach him.
There are no guarantees following these tips will make your children perfect or even that they will consistently make godly, mature decisions. Some mis-steps are likely, in part because of their lack of life experience. That is part of the discipling process – teaching, demonstrating and then giving opportunities for guided practice. Guided practice gives your kids a safe place to make those mistakes. A place where a Christian adult is standing by to mentor or offer help when needed. Practice that allows for feedback and correction.
Parents who don’t disciple their kids often find their children are involved in real life scenarios without that extra godly support. Suddenly, these young people are with peers and attempting to make potentially life-changing if not eternity changing decisions without having been prepared. Honestly, it’s surprising more kids and teens don’t end up in over their heads, making poor choices.
So how do you disciple your kids? There are a lot of things you can do, but if you follow the model Jesus set with his Apostles, you will be making a good start.