Our goal for our children

"What is our goal for our children? To be happy? To have good jobs? Our main goal must be to train them to follow God. Our children are not our own, they belong to Him and we have a responsibility before Him to train them."

- Carl and Virginia Herrington in their article "Building families that embrace mission"

It is easy as parents to get drawn into following the world's values in parenting our children. But what does the Bible say about some of these common aspirations...

Is our goal to raise happy children?

Is our goal to raise well behaved children?

Is our goal to raise well educated children?

Is our goal to raise children with a financially secure future?

Is our goal to raise successful children?

These may be good things but are they God's best? Our goal is to raise children who above everything else follow Jesus' example to:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength... [and] Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)