My mother wasn’t known as a hyper-religious person. Even though she was a faithful servant in our local church, she probably wasn’t seen by church leadership as a spiritual giant. She wasn’t a forceful teacher of the Bible, and she didn’t typically lead the church’s big ministry projects.
Yet, she had a more powerful impact on my spiritual life than anyone prior to my marriage, at which point my wife carried that baton.
My mom’s most effective ministry in my life was when she would point me very gently, often with a whisper, to God in the most intimate place in my life, the most private place – utterly secret – my heart. She was training me to experience God’s self-revelation, which I know now to be the single greatest thing a parent can do for their child.
Jesus changed the name of Simon, son of Jonah, from Simon to Peter. Peter means rock, Jesus told him, and He said that it was on this rock that He would build his church. He didn’t mean Peter, the man, would be the rock on which He would establish His church; He wasn’t declaring Peter to be the first pope, as some believe He was.
If Jesus wasn’t at all saying He’d build His church on Peter. On what, then?
The answer to that question is found in the reason He cited for changing Simon’s name to Peter. Simon, in his final moment as Simon, professed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
Jesus replied that such knowledge had to have been revealed to Simon Peter by God (Matthew 16).
That’s what Jesus would build His church on!
The church all Jesus followers are a part of today and all since its inception (Acts 2) is built on God revealing to people who Jesus is.
That’s how God builds His kingdom in our hearts, by revelation of Himself, and as a person receives that revelation, they become part of His kingdom; they become a building block in His church because they have revelation knowledge of Jesus.
Personally, I believe someone can be saved only by trusting the Divinely revealed Christ.
Now, back to the parenting piece of this.
If a person needs Christ Divinely revealed to be saved, and the church is built by saved souls being its building blocks, the greatest thing a parent can do is to help their child be positioned to receive the Divinely revealed Son of God.
When a parent does this, they’re accomplishing the most supremely important things in the universe – multiple supremely important things. Their children are saved by Jesus Christ, God’s kingdom is being built, His church constructed, with the souls of their children.
One final, very important thought. Parents, while God’s revealed Son is the means for your kid’s salvation, cooperate with God; don’t set examples that contradict the truth of the gospel, and don’t treat your child in a way that conflicts with God’s love.
This is how parents build God’s kingdom.
