Building Character- LOVE

Galatians 5:22 ” But the Fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL.”

At the foundation of every precious child there should permeate the endless beauty of the Character of God.  God is LOVE and from that place of LOVE should blossom the TRANSFORMING Fruit of the Spirit that changes the world!!  – SELAH

Let’s look at some foundational teachings starting with the Fruit of the Spirit.  When we teach our children, we need to keep it simple, so let’s always start with foundational principles.  1 John 4:8 “God is LOVE”.  Just as a mother and father love, nurture, care for and discipline their children out of the love for that child, so to does our Lord and Savior do the same.  Character has to be the building block of their christian walk.  So how do we parents (teachers) help them build that foundation? Let’s remember that according to Deuteronomy 6  we are commanded to teach our children to LOVE God first. When we teach our children about God, about His love for us, and about His love for others, they will begin to build an understanding of what a REAL Christian (God follower) should be or look like.   Their understanding of the Father’s love is the very foundation that their character stems from.  1 John 4:8 “He who does not LOVE does not know God, for God is LOVE.”  In Deuteronomy we are told to talk about God and His Love wherever we are, so we should be capturing teaching moments every day, all day with our little sponges.  When there is an opportunity to make a correction because of “lack of character” use that time to help them understand the LOVE of God and HOW LOVE should act or respond. See  EVERY SINGLE opportunity as a moment to grow “But we all…..are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (NAS). We ALL learn little by little…step by step…glory to glory….our children are the same!!   YES, it is time consuming! Yes, it takes serious commitment and yes, it takes unrelenting consistency (I hear you sighing ).….but there are no easy roads to TRUE GODLY CHARACTER!!   INVEST NOW!!!  The reward is the best gift we could give to our loving Father.

Romans 1:20 – ” For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been CLEARLY SEEN, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse!”

For small children, teach them everyday to see the LOVE and goodness of God through His creation – the sunshine, the rain, the flowers- their amazing colors, the animals, etc. Have them observe the nurturing of the mommies and daddies with their babies and how they care for and meet every need of their little ones. Get them involved while they are young  “…and when he is old he will not depart from it”! (Proverbs 22:6).   Have them collect butterflies or frogs to see the vastness of God’s creation and experience the Love God has for His children and creation.  God has so graciously blessed you with your precious (His Precious) children…YOU ARE EQUIPPED!!!  YOU ARE WELL ABLE!!  GOD WILL GUIDE YOU TO TEACH AND TRAIN THEM UP!!  JUST COMMIT TO HIM….HE WILL SEE YOU THROUGH!  I PROMISE!