Redemption Integrated with Life
(^) All this communication gives children a biblical understanding of
mankind. It gives them a better understanding of themselves. It helps
them understand God’s standard. They learn that God is ultimate.
This provides a biblical grid for understanding life. They learn that
humanity’s problem is sin. We all sin and are sinned against. We are
both perpetrators and victims. For this reason, all of life must be
viewed in terms of God’s redemptive restoration of man.
(^) They see the centrality of the gospel of grace. Jesus Christ came
to this earth and lived the life that all men and women should live. He
fully obeyed the law of God, and through faith his obedience can be
imputed to them. They learn that in Jesus one can find forgiveness,
renewal, and empowerment. The more profoundly they know
themselves and their neediness, the more deeply they will understand
their need of the internal change and power that grace brings.
(^) They see how knowing and loving God—finding grace, power, and
fullness in him—answers their deepest needs. All of life is lived
through the power and grace of the gospel. Christ is relevant
everywhere for everything.
(^) In this way, your kids are provided with a grid through which to
filter the events of life when you’re not there to provide direction and
correction They are trained to be independent, trained to stand on
their own without parental support. What better training is there than
to equip your child to understand life through a biblical, redemptive
grid?
(^) Children can go off to college and develop nurturing relationships
both with fellow students and with the Christian community. We
should not be surprised; they are simply finding new relationships
like the ones they have enjoyed at home.
Is It Worth the Cost?