Your child is going to experience a lot of firsts. Their first day of school. Their first sleepover. Their first test. Their first love. And, on and on the list goes.
You could likely recall many of your “firsts” vividly, with much of the same emotion as when you first experienced them.
These firsts will affect how your child looks at life:
- A great first day of school could make them one of those rare kids who love going to school
- An awkward first sleepover might make them avoid them for years to come.
- Depending on the results, their first test could decide if they welcome tests, or dread them.
- That first love could change the trajectory of their lives, and I don’t mean boyfriend or girlfriend…let me explain.
A teenager is often confronted with choosing between a summer job or a summer mission trip. The one they choose first has greater potential to become their “first love”.
If a teenager experiences a job first and everything they can buy with the money they make, then serving God will always be competing with the world in their heart.
But, if a teenager experiences missions first and has an encounter with God, then the world will always be competing with serving God in their heart.
Yes, a job will teach your child responsibility, work ethic, and many other skills, but serving God will lay a spiritual foundation that they can build on for the rest of their lives.
Here are 5 verses that show us exactly what God wants for His children.
Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
God wants His kids to seek Him first because He wants them to have everything they need, just as much as we do.
Yet, we don’t always set that example for them.
We will spend endless hours, and countless dollars, so our kids can do extra-curricular activities like music and sports, but we won’t spend the same effort on their spiritual growth.
Youth group takes a backseat to dance lessons or hockey games come before church.
Without realizing it, we’ve impacted how our kids will prioritize their lives.
If we’re honest, most of our kids won’t become the next Lebron James or Auston Matthews, but they will need a spiritual foundation to help them through this ever darkening world.
Luke 16:13 Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
I’ve worked with many young people over the years and there have been some, that you just knew, were called to ministry. However, because of pressure from their well-meaning parents they ended up focusing on their education and getting a good job instead of ministry.
Most would say these young people are “doing well” for themselves, but I can’t help but wonder how much greater their eternal impact would have been had they been encouraged to follow the call on their lives.
We must choose who is first, God, or the world?
Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”
This seems to be a recurring theme in Jesus’ teaching. Whether it’s about building a house on solid rock, or planting seed in fertile soil, God teaches us the importance of having a solid foundation.
Truly, there is nothing in the world that is stable anymore. From toppling governments to shifting moral values, the only thing that any of us can count on, that is “the same yesterday, today, and forever”, is God’s Word.
One of the greatest things about serving God is that you get to see His Word in action! You get to God fulfill His promises of providing for you, giving you strength, answering your prayers.
Imagine the faith that your teenager would develop for life!
John 15:4 Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
Don’t we all want our kids to bear fruit? To have lives that make a difference in this world? The key for that to happen, is that we must remain in Jesus.
When you have a living, vibrant, relationship with Jesus it makes it so much easier to remain in Him! In fact, it gets to the point that you can’t even imagine life apart from Jesus.
For teenagers who don’t have that living, vibrant relationship, serving God can change that. Jesus will become more than just Lord, but also Provider and Friend.
Matthew 28:16-20 Jesus said, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus’ commissioned all of us, our kids included, to share the gospel and to disciple those who would believe.
Providing our kids with opportunities to serve God at an early age will give them a passion and a burden for evangelism and discipleship. And they will only get better at it with experience.
God can use your teenager to change lives.
We love our kids and we want the best for them, but God loves our kids and wants the best for them even more than we do.
Do you trust Him enough to let your child’s first love be to serve the One who provides everything for us?