Leading Your Kids to Be Happy in God

Several years ago I attended a women’s conference with a few friends from church, and we had the privilege of hearing John Piper deliver the closing message.  He worked his way through Deuteronomy chapters 29 and 30, focusing on 30:6, “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”  He drew out this sweet phrase from verse 9, “The LORD will again delight in you.”  His point was when our hearts are turned from love of self to love of the all-satisfying, awesome God, we find our delight in Him; and when we delight in Him, He in turn takes great delight in us. 

It was an incredible sermon; you can watch it at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/conference_media/matter-life-death/. 

On our way back to the van to head home, one of the moms pondered aloud, “How do you teach a 5-year-old to delight in God?”

Good question.  Here are some thoughts on teaching young ones to delight in the LORD.

My first thought was delighting in God is caught more than it is taught.  Growing up in the Vliet home, I caught my parents’ love for coffee, since I saw my parents drink it all day long.  Johnathan caught his parents’ love for garden-fresh tomatoes, which were served at almost every meal.  I caught my dad loving God as I watched him kneel in prayer by his bed every night before going to sleep.  I caught my mother’s love for the gospel and lost souls as I observed her inviting neighbors over and writing letters to loved ones to share how Christ had changed her. What are you “serving up” to your kids on a regular basis?  If your kids were asked, what makes your mom or dad happy, what would they reply?  Are you demonstrating to those around you that God is the One who brings you joy? 

Second, delight in God is displayed by finding joy in His presence individually and together as a family.  If God makes you happy and you love Him more than anything else, you will find joy, like Mary did, sitting at His feet.  It’s so important for your children to see you reading God’s Word on your own and also to read, pray, and sing to the Lord together as a family.  The fact is what you love you will give your time and attention to.  Will your child say, Mom, Dad, you were always working.  I remember you spending a lot of time on Facebook.  Seems like we were constantly redecorating the house (or going to a soccer game or watching Netflix – fill in the blank).  Or will your child remember, Seems like you must have loved God a lot because it was top priority for our family to worship Him. 

Last, delight in God is communicated when you enjoy His gifts and acknowledge Him as the Giver.  Paul David Tripp in his excellent Parenting book says this:  “…it is not unnatural to talk about God all the time because he’s everywhere to be seen.  How can you boil an egg, see the rising sun, hear the pounding of the rain, listen to the song of a bird, listen to the sizzle of a steak, watch the falling of the winter’s snow, view the turning of the leaves, stand on a beach and gaze across the seemingly endless ocean, listen to the huge catalog of different-sounding human voices, and not talk to your children about the glory of God?”  Remind your children that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17), thank God for those gifts, and then enjoy them!

John Piper says, “The whole duty of the Christian can be summed up in this:  to feel, think, and act in a way that makes God look as great as He really is.”  This is what we want for our kids….to see how magnificent and glorious God is so they will love Him with all their hearts and in Him find lasting pleasure, peace, and purpose. 

Dads, moms, pursue true, steadfast joy in Christ for your own good and the good of your children.  As you do, God will grant you the desires of your heart (Ps. 37:4), and what’s more, your family will cause Him to rejoice and to sing!  “The Lord your God is in your midst,  a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness;  he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).  What a beautiful promise to claim for your home and for mine.