Understanding Why We Teach Our Children

Understanding why we teach and guide our children in God’s Word is essential. As Christian parents, pastors, teachers, and church leaders, God has entrusted us with the responsibility of raising children who know Him, love Him, and walk in His truth. Our calling is not simply to educate children but to disciple them so they may grow in the same way Jesus Christ grew, in wisdom, obedience, and in favour with God and people.

The Bible tells us:

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
(Luke 2:52)

This verse provides God’s pattern for the spiritual, moral, and personal development of every child.

The Birth of Jesus and God’s Purpose for Children

Jesus Christ was born into a family that trusted and obeyed God. Mary believed the message given by the angel, and Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit according to God’s promise.

Although Jesus was fully God, He entered the world as a child and lived among people while perfectly representing His Father in heaven. Throughout His earthly life, He demonstrated complete obedience, humility, holiness, and reverence toward Father.

His life becomes the perfect example for every child. Just as Jesus lived to please His Father, our children must also be taught to develop Christ-like character, seek God’s approval above all else, and learn how to live faithfully in a world that often rejects God’s truth.

The Hidden Years of Jesus and the Importance of Age Twelve

The Bible records very little about Jesus’ childhood. Apart from His birth and early years, Scripture highlights one important event when Jesus was twelve years old.

After His parents searched for Him, they found Him:

“After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions.”
(Luke 2:46)

This moment is significant. Around this age, children begin to understand responsibility, right and wrong, and the seriousness of obedience.

Jesus was not truly lost. He was exactly where He desired to be, in His Father’s house. His heart was already directed toward God’s purposes.

This teaches us the importance of guiding children early in life so that their hearts naturally desire God’s truth, God’s presence, and God’s ways.

The Spiritual Meaning of Being “Lost”

Children enter the world without the knowledge of God’s Word. Without biblical instruction, they can easily become influenced, confused, and misled by the values of the world.

God gives this warning:

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
(Hosea 4:6)

A child who lacks biblical knowledge is at risk of becoming spiritually lost among the voices and influences of society.

For this reason, teaching Scripture is not optional; it is essential. God’s Word establishes a child’s identity, shapes wise decisions, and provides the direction needed to walk faithfully throughout life.

Jesus’ Obedience and Spiritual Growth

When Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple, He answered:

“Why were you searching for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?”
(Luke 2:49)

Jesus was not being disrespectful or rebellious. Rather, He revealed that the calling of God rested upon His life even from childhood.

Yet despite His divine mission, Jesus continued to honor His earthly parents.

The Bible says:

“Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them.”
(Luke 2:51)

Jesus perfectly fulfilled God’s commandment to honor His father and mother while remaining completely devoted to His heavenly Father.

His life demonstrates the perfect balance: honoring earthly parents while loving and obeying God above all.

The Life Every Child Truly Needs

A child does not primarily need worldly wealth, success, or fame. A child needs a life shaped by the will and ways of God.

Jesus Himself declared:

“For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
(John 6:38)

Jesus was born of a virgin, lived without sin, died for our sins, rose again, and ascended into heaven so that everyone who believes in Him may receive eternal life.

Through Adam, sin entered the world. Through Jesus Christ, salvation came to all who believe.

Because human nature has been corrupted by sin, every person must be born again through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us a new heart, a heart that loves God, delights in His Word, and desires to obey Him.

Jesus said:

“Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(John 3:3)

Our obedience does not earn God’s favors. Rather, because we have received God’s grace through Jesus Christ, we now obey Him as an act of worship and to glorify Him with our lives.

The Purpose of Raising Children in God’s Word

Christian parents should be able to raise a righteous generation, a generation that knows the Lord, obeys His Word, and walks faithfully in His truth.

God has shown us through Jesus Christ how to live a life of holiness, humility, love, and obedience. While the Cross stands at the center of our salvation, the entire life of Jesus reveals how believers are to live.

Every event recorded in Scripture is intentional. Everything God has written serves His purpose of teaching us His will and guiding His people into truth.

Therefore, parents and church leaders must faithfully teach God’s Word to the next generation.

As Scripture says:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
(Proverbs 22:6)