Christian Parenting: Parenting with a Biblical Foundation

Children learn by example. The heart of Christian parenting is to model Biblical character for your children. While easier said than done at times, it serves well to have a visual reminder of what you want your children to be learning. The Bible is very clear on what behavior is expected of us. It is also clear when telling us how to parent our children.

Proverbs 22:6 says to "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Why should your training be focused on the Bible? Isaiah 54:13 gives the answer, "All our children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of our children." There is no better resource for learning about the Lord than the Bible.

The new testament gives an often-quoted command in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." These characteristics should be the foundation of your Christian parenting.

Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity, without it, there is nothing. Faith in Christ's resurrection, the virgin birth and the Bible as the infallible Word of God are just the beginning. Faith, by definition, is "confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing." Your faith will deeply impact your child's faith. Your child will emulate your faith in his early years, question your faith at one time or another, and finally embrace or reject your faith. Are you portraying an accurate picture of your faith?

Hope springs eternal, as the saying goes. Unfortunately for many Christians, it is much easier to get caught up in the negativity seemingly so prevalent in the world. However, these are the times to cling to hope the hardest. The Bible states "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." To abound is to "be fully supplied or filled." How do you react when faced with seemingly insurmountable problems? Your child will react the same way.

Love. Love is clearly important to the Christian faith. It is the most used word in the Bible. The foundation of Christianity is love, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Christian parenting is rooted here also. Loving our children should be a given. Model love to your child by finding what speaks to her heart and meet that need as best as humanly possible. Model loving others by doing the same for your family. Show your child how you can love someone even when they do something negative. You are the physical example your child has of God. Do you portray God accurately?

While Biblically based, these character traits apply across the religious spectrum, not just to Christian parents. Christian parenting should include more than these three character traits. However, the foundation of your parenting should be faith, hope and love.