Moms ask me all the time, How can I get my son to want to follow Christ? My answer? You cannot coerce, manipulate, or even reward your son enough to make him want to live in full abandon to Christ. You can, however, live in a manner that makes following Christ irresistible!
“Your son–as well as his generation–longs to see what genuine Christianity looks like. They are aching for someone to lay down all the trivial cares of life and show them, by example, how to live completely sold out for Christ. Your son can come to understand the infinite importance of surrendering his future to the Lord if he sees you living with total abandon for Christ. And your son will learn to joyfully expect the Lord to direct his future as well.
In her book A Woman After God’s Own Heart, Elizabeth George penned the cry of my heart: “I am in fear of missing what God has for me in this life. I don’t want to be robbed of even one of God’s riches by not taking time to let Him invade my life…”And I am equally concerned that my sons not miss any opportunities to serve the Lord in their lives.
When Christ “invades your life,” what spills over is a passion for Him and for His kingdom purposes. Your son will not be able to ignore your message if it flows from a genuine longing to honor the Lord in all you do.
To let Christ invade your life, you may need to do a little housecleaning. To determine whether you are serious about living in a manner that will inspire your son to live for Christ ask yourself these questions:
- Am I willing to forfeit relationships that do not honor the Lord?
- Am I willing to refuse to be entertained by anything that is contrary to God’s commands?
- Am I willing to forsake all activities or opportunities that would draw me away from wholehearted obedience to Christ?
Your willingness to lay aside anything that besets your passionate pursuit of Christ and to His leading will not only set an example for your son to follow, but create an appetite in him to do the same.
To make a lasting impression on your son, you must be set on fire by the single most glorious purpose of life–to know Christ and joyfully exhibit His greatness in all areas of life!”
Excerpt from Moms Raising Sons to Be Men.
Thanks Rhonda for sharing with passion and clarity what it means to lay our lives down for our children.
Sue
As the mom of a son, I really appreciate this article. Has even made me pause to see what “housekeeping” I need to do. Thank you for sharing and I’m definitely adding your book to my reading list.