Looking back to when my kids were little, I remember one of the big milestones was hearing them successfully sing their ABCs. Oh how I loved the sounds of their sweet voices as they sang that song.
I remember how important it seemed that they knew their alphabet before going into kindergarten. Now that they have grown, I see there is something far more important that we need to teach our children than the standard ABCs.
We need to be teaching our children the most important ABCs. The ABCs of God.
At this point, you are probably wondering what I am talking about. Let me explain…
A: Always remember to say your prayers. Teaching our children the power of prayer is so important. Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons they have. Life is not always going to be easy and when we teach our children that they can find wisdom, strength and hope in prayer, you equip them with the means to withstand the storms of life. When we teach them to pray we give them a way to find the answers to some of the hardest questions they are sure to face.
B: Be thankful. We live in a world that tells us we should want more things. Like “things” are really the answer to happiness. I heard one of my daughter’s friends say, after a mission to Nicaragua, that she watched a child play with a deflated soccer ball and a broken truck that he had found. What spoke to my daughter’s friend was the child’s happiness to just have something to play with. We need to teach our children to be thankful for what really matters. We need to teach them to give thanks for food in their stomachs, a roof over their heads, or that they have a single toy to play with. Teaching them to be thankful for friends, laughter, and whatever they have leads to a happy heart.
C: Christ is the ticket. Christ is the truth, Christ is life, and Christ is love. We need our children to understand the importance of a relationship with Him. He is someone they can always count on. They need to understand His forgiveness and how important they are to Him. We need to teach them that nothing the world offers will ever give them what Christ can give them. If there is only one thing you give your children, give them a firm foundation in Christ!
A child who prays, who gives thanks and who is shown the importance of a relationship with Christ will have a much happier life. As parents we need to spend more time teaching our children what really matters….
When they learn the ABCs of God, everything else falls into place.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6 KJV
Rejoice always, (Always) pray continually, give thanks (Be thankful) in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (Christ is the ticket).
Written by Kim Chaffin
