Leading With Love and Authority: Balancing Grace and Truth as You Lead Your Children Toward ChristSample

Discipling for a Lifetime

Before entering the Promised Land, Moses paused to review the Ten Commandments, reminding the Israelites what was required to flourish for generations. He didn’t simply tell the adults how to behave for their own good; he urged them to pass on faith that would endure through the generations. Moses laid the groundwork for a spiritual legacy.

The word “legacy” typically causes us to consider what we’ll leave behind, but the word “legacy” actually means “to send forward.” Parents, what we leave behind is what we send forward.

While Moses reiterates the foundation of a moral society through God’s commands, he also provides parents with a discipleship plan for their families. The commandments—and obedience to them—are critical for the Israelites’ future. The hidden treasure lies in how Moses instructs parents to share those commandments.

Legacy is built through relationships and found in everyday moments, meaningful stories, and repeated conversations we have throughout life. Spiritual legacy is woven through the generations as we gather around the dinner table, drive carpool, move through bedtime routines, and greet each other in the morning.

Notice, Moses didn’t tell parents to hold family devotions, require morning study, or take their children to youth group. All these activities are valuable, but, practiced outside of relationship, they pale in comparison to the spiritual legacy you build by sharing your ongoing testimony of God's work in your life with your children.

Deuteronomy 6:6–7 is a beautiful description of true discipleship. Discipleship involves learning and discerning the Word of God and His ways. However, it happens within ongoing relationships and conversations. Discipleship is about sharing who God is, how He moves, and how He has worked in your life with those coming behind.

Discipleship begins at home.

Parents, you leave a legacy every day with everyone you meet. A legacy is simply the impression you send forward after spending time with someone. What mark are you leaving in your children? Moses tells us to impress the commandments on our children. The impression you leave through relationship opens the door for those commandments to sink into their hearts—carried through your family and into generations you may one day meet in Heaven.

Reflection:

How can you integrate faith into your everyday routines with your children? What’s one creative way to talk about God more naturally in your home?

Written by Suzanne Phillips