But when we say, “I don’t think Jesus is very pleased with your hair,” we have not only moralized a nonmoral issue, we’ve also shoved a wedge between our child and us - and between our child and God. So they say something like, “I don’t think Jesus is very pleased with your hair.”įrankly, I don’t think Jesus really cares about the length or color of our hair. Perhaps their son has just colored his hair and spiked it, and they worry that everybody at church is going to wonder what kind of loser Christian parents they are. Many kids go through a phase of having weird hairstyles, and it’s often a source of embarrassment for parents. Grace-based homes have room for those kinds of kids. Let me give you synonyms for different so you know what I’m talking about: weird, bizarre, strange, goofy, quirky.

Specifically, parents can give their children four freedoms to create an environment of grace: The Freedom to be Different

We need to create an atmosphere of grace in our homes which in turn helps explain grace to a child.Ī grace-based home thrives on freedom. We need to treat our kids the way God treats His kids - with unmerited kindness. If we want our kids to understand and respond to God’s grace, we need to give them more than information. It’s God’s kindness that changes hearts and lives. It’s not the message of salvation that inclines people toward repentance. After describing all the things people have done to reject God, he asks, “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Romans 2:4, emphasis added). In the second chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul talks about what draws people to Jesus.

We want them to accept the salvation Christ freely offers. Explaining grace to a child is one of the biggest things you will do as a parent. As Christian parents, we are so grateful for the grace of God, and we want our kids to understand it, too. Instead of condemning us, He freed us from sin’s grip on our lives. Instead of giving us the punishment we deserve, Jesus laid down His life for our sins.

What does it mean to give someone grace