How to Teach Your Child to Rely on the Unconditional Love of God

How do you teach your child to rely on the unconditional love of God? Your job as a parent is to help her understand her G.O.D. purpose: G stands for heart of gratitude, O for the soul of obedience, and D for the mind of dependence. This will deepen your child’s understanding and appreciation of God’s love for her.

As much as we would like to be able to dictate to our children, simply telling them what to do, that is often insufficient in helping them grow. We must demonstrate the values that we advocate. That means we need to model the heart of gratitude, soul of obedience, and mind of dependence.

• Having a heart of gratitude means reflecting on what we are thankful for on a regular basis. It means vocalizing that gratitude and reiterating that God has given us all that we have. 
• Having a soul of obedience means trusting and obeying God even when we don’t understand what’s going on or the path isn’t clear. Even when we can’t discern what God is up to, we follow Jesus and live as he lived. We love as He loved with the help of His Spirit, no matter who is watching, no matter the consequences.
• Having a mind of dependence means we continually recognize and communicate that we are dependent on God for everything. This means not just having a learning mindset, but foregoing our tendency to be entirely self-sufficient. Instead of burying ourselves in work in order to make more money and feel secure, we need to pray for God to provide while we do our best, not pretending like more work (or more money) will save us.

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“We must demonstrate the values that we advocate.”
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When we model this behavior, communicate these values to our children, and explain why we have these values, they are likely to emulate us. Instead of relying on their own strength, they will rely on God’s strength. Instead of complaining or fretting, they will trust in His faithfulness. And instead of going their own way, they will rest in His love, knowing that He will take care of them, even when the path isn’t clear.

Take Action: Engage in the Journey of Transition

If you would like to pass on your values to your children but you aren’t sure how, check out the Journey of Transition video course. Developed by the leadership of JH Ranch, this course is packed with wisdom, practical exercises, and field-tested strategies for connecting with your teenager and parenting him or her successfully through adolescence. Find out how you can model the relationship with God that you want your teen to emulate, both now and in adulthood. Click here to learn more!