Family Friday: Serving God as a Family

Serving God as a Family

            Our children will often do the kinds of things that we as parents do.  For example, young ladies will often clean in the same manner as their mother; young men will often do yardwork in the same manner as their father.  So it is with serving God.  Service is not natural; it takes seeing things from God’s perspective.  How we view service will be transferred to our children!  Serving should not be done out of duty, but out of love for Him.  Christ’s ministry was completely about serving others, not Himself.  When our children see us put aside our own wants in order to put someone else first, they will begin to see what serving others really is.  So the question is this: From our attitude, do our children see service for God from the right viewpoint?  If we complain about serving God, so will our children. 

            Sometimes, serving Him is tiring!  It could be that our children don’t want to serve simply because they are tired.  Make sure they never hear you say that!  Be sensitive to the fact that you are an adult who is used to making the right decisions because you have spiritual maturity, and your children do not.  Guide their thinking when they don’t want to serve.  If necessary, tell them that they are going to serve with you first and discuss the reasons with you later.  Be practical in the amount of time you expect your family to serve together, but make sure they don’t complain about it!   

            Try to keep family morale encouraged by emphasizing blessings you receive by serving Christ.  Point out  people and families that have been influenced by your family’s service for Him.  When possible, do domething fun or have a treat after serving.  If our children see benefits from serving Him, they are more likely to continue until they have matured enough to serve out of love for Christ.

            There are many ways to serve Him, so try to find an avenue in which you can serve as a family.  Ideas are boundless: bus ministry, nursing home, special singing, church cleaning, soulwinning, shut-in visits, hospital visits, cooking for the elderly, etc.  If you can’t think of anything, ask your pastor; he’s sure to have a suggestion! 

            There are many reasons and methods to serve Him as a family. Teach the right attitude about serving.  Choose a way to serve, have some fun with it, and teach your children that there is joy in serving Jesus.