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Easter is over. For the next 8 months, it is really easy to go through the motions of church and Christianity – especially for our children. We live in a world where Christmas and Easter are the only times we focus on Christ, even sometimes in Christian homes.
How can we keep Christ the center, even after the spiritual holidays are over?
One thing that is very important in keeping Christ the center for our kids is keeping Him the center for us. When we are not focused on preparing our hearts for Christmas or Easter we sometimes get lost in the business of life. We have quiet times – when we get to them. We pray – when there is a “need.”
We must be intentional in order to keep Christ the center of our lives, and not just an added-on decoration that we pull out for the holidays.
Once we have made sure that Christ is the center for us, then we can move on to our children.
- Our kids need to see time with God as more than something we do on Sundays (and maybe Wednesdays) and more than a subject in our homeschool. They need to see Christ as a part of our every day life. Make sure that you are using lots of examples in life to talk about God. Point Him out in the things you are doing outside or in an answer to prayer. Make sure your kids see you in God's Word for more than just devotional time as a family, but because you love it.
- Take time to reach out. Share the gospel with your kids. Maybe you can clean out a bedroom and take the clothes to a shelter. Go serve at a soup kitchen in the middle of summer, not just for Thanksgiving. Make homeless care packs that you can pass out. These things are great to do at the holidays, but they are just as wonderful, and maybe more meaningful, during times when it isn't just “what we do.” I plan a mission project for our family for each month so that we are constantly doing things for others.
- Teach your children to be sensitive to the situations around them. Do they have a friend who is sick? Pray for them. Do you see an ambulance on the road? Pray for the paramedics and the injured. Help them to have eyes for spiritual opportunities to pray or help someone in need. They learn this from watching you.
These are only three simple things, and I am sure there are many more that I am missing. However, it is important that we don't just focus on Christ at Christmas and Easter. Both of those times are important. It is important that He came to earth to save us. It is SO vitally important that He died and rose again.
However, He came to have a relationship with us, to be a part of each and every day – not just those memorialized days.
I would love to hear how you keep Christ the center in the comments below!
Worshiping With My Life,
Mandy
