Teaching Hearts

“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”

~ Matthew 15:8-9

I read through the book of Matthew earlier this week, and God taught me so much! One of the things that I caught my attention was the above verses. Those are some pretty powerful and scary words! It really made me think about the way I teach my children. Am I teaching them to honor God with their lips and not their hearts? Am I teaching them to worship God in vain, simply obeying the rules of men? 

Whenever I start to reflect on my parenting, I always think back to my own mother. I had one of the most amazing moms in the world, but my childhood was far from perfect. Yes we went to church, but God wasn't the focus of my upbringing. Therefore, it's really hard for me to make sure that He is the center of my children's upbringing. I am an avid reader, but it's one thing to read about biblical parenting in a book, and another to actually experience it. 

I will never forget the little girl that was baptized last year. She had such an amazing understanding of the Gospel that it blew me away. Her mother is an amazing Christian woman, who I'm sure devotes her entire day to teaching her children and bringing them up in the ways of the Lord. I spent weeks wishing that I could be a fly on the wall in her house for just a day. I longed to learn how to be that mother - because I'm not. 

I'm amazingly thankful for a certain blog that reminds me that it's okay to fail. That being a perfect parent isn't required and that God is more powerful than our parenting failures. Just to remember that while I might fall insanely short of bringing my children up to fear the Lord, that God can still save them. Even the most wonderful parenting in the world can't save the souls of my children, only God can - and He can save them despite my parenting. 

Don't get me wrong, I still long to teach my children how wonderful my Savior is. I want them to know of His unfailing love, and to cultivate their hearts for Him. So much so that I contacted my pastor this week to see about getting a Titus 2 mentor. I had one last spring, but our schedules didn't mesh well, and it just didn't work out. 

While I long for my children to obey, I want them to do so because they want to - not because they have to. I want my children to know of our heavenly Father's love, but not just know what it is, but to actually experience it! I just seem to flounder when it comes to actually teaching them. Thankfully, I have God's Word, and God's grace, so no matter how many times I fail, no matter how horrible of a job I do, God is still God, and at the end of the day, He still loves me, and has the ability to save my children despite of me. 

I'm linking up with Word-Filled Wednesday over at Internet Cafe Devotions. 

Check it out for more Word-Filled posts by visiting: http://internetcafedevotions.com/

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