When our children turn to God as their Father and begin to rely on his working in and with them, and in their lives, they need to know that he’s trustworthy and faithful.

It’s impossible to trust someone when you know nothing of his or her character, concern for you, or ability to deliver. To trust someone means that you know, without even having to think about it, that because of his or her character and love for you, that person will always act with your best interests in mind. You know that the person in question is trustworthy. It also means having the confidence that the person you trust is not only able to do what you’re trusting him or her to do but will do it – because that person is faithful.

Our children, then need to know that God loves them and is trustworthy; they can trust him with their lives, knowing that his way is the best way and will make their lives work better. They also need to know that he’s faithful; they can put their faith in him and rely on him, day by day, to do what he says he’ll do for them as their Father: care for them, provide for them, teach them, direct and encourage them, help them to grow, and so forth.

What the Lord says is right and true. He is faithful in everything he does. (Psalm 33:4)

The Lord is faithful and will keep all his promises. He is loving toward everything he has made. (Psalm 145:13)

Let us hold firmly to the hope we claim to have. The One who promised in faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)

He is faithful and right in everything he does. All his rules can be trusted. (Psalm 111:7)

Lord, those who know you will trust in you. You have never deserted those who look to you. (Psalm 9:10)

May the God who gives hope fill you with great joy. May you have perfect peace as you trust in him. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope. (Romans 15:13)

Our children also need to be trustworthy and faithful themselves. These two characteristics are foundational for establishing relationships and making them grow. Trustworthiness and faithfulness are necessary if your children are going to be successful in relationships with friends and family, in marriage, and in their careers and communities. If people can trust them to do what’s best for others and can put their faith in their ability to perform and to keep their word, they’ll prosper in their relationships. And since good relationships are the key to success in every area of human existence, they’ll succeed in life. Furthermore, if they’re trustworthy and faithful in their relationship with God, God will be able to trust them with more responsibilities and blessings in this life. Life works when we’re faithful and trustworthy.

Don’t let love and truth ever leave you. Tie them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and a good name in the eyes of God and people. (Proverbs 3:3-4)

Lord, to those who are faithful you show that you are faithful. To those who are without blame you show that you are without blame. (Psalm 18:25)

Friends love at all times. They are there to help when trouble comes. (Proverbs 17:17)

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (Luke 16:10, NIV)

Your can see now why correctly teaching our children about God’s character is vital if we want them to have a successful life!

(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Bible Teacher)

This is the seventh and final post in the series: “What does the Bible say about sibling rivalry and how can I get my kids to get along?”

We started out this sibling rivalry series by establishing that what the world says is normal in family relationships, is not what God wants for Christian families.

The world says that sibling rivalry, rebellious teenagers, kids and parents not getting along and family fighting are all part of normal family life.

However, Jesus himself said that the two greatest commands were to love God and to love others and that all of God’s law is summed up in these two commands. Christian love is a foundation of our Faith and teaching it, is a core Christian parenting skill.

God has called parents to bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord—to teach them how God says life works and how we are to live. The Christian home is the place where God meant for children to learn how to love God and others. They need to be taught what love is, to be trained in how to walk it out and to see it exampled in the lives of their older siblings and parents.

God intended that the Christian home be the classroom for developing relational skills and learning how to love. Sibling relationships and parent/child relationships are the crash test dummies that prepare our children for every other peer relationship and authority relationship in their lives.

Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34, 35)

Jesus said that the world would be able to tell who his disciples are by the love they show. Why? Because God put an innate need to be loved in the heart of every one of us. Real love speaks of truth and calls each one of us towards it.

In a day and age where children are being raised to hate, it’s not enough for us to speak out against hate. We must lead the way and intentionally teach our children to love. If we don’t, we may not be teaching our children to hate but by our lack of teaching, we cause our children to become indifferent and/or self-centered. Indifferent and self-centered people don’t reach out and help change a hating world!

Expecting our children to somehow learn how to love by osmoses or by just telling them to love, is like expecting them to learn math without math lessons.

The second greatest command reflects the second most important task of Christian Parenting. We are called to roll up our sleeves, cry out to God for help and take the time and energy to practically instruct and train our children in how to love. Teaching them about forgiveness, kindness, patience, kind words, encouragement, compassion, cooperation, conflict resolution, gentleness, faithfulness, thoughtfulness, sacrifice, selflessness, listening, generosity, fairness, building others up, being helpful, manners, respect, honor, duty, standing up for the rights of others and much more.

These concepts are all mere words to our children until they are explained and taught. They may hear about them at Sunday school and in Bible stories but in order to really learn these family values and virtues, they need to be taught while life is happening.

I love the song ‘The Prayers of The Children.’ The generation of children growing up in the world, like every generation before them, want to love and be loved. Only the hate in the world and their fallen nature leads them away.

But if our Christian children are taught by us and the Holy Spirit within them to truly love in their hearts and with their actions, they will reach past hate and make a huge difference in their generation—and by that love, the world will know who God’s children are.

If this is the first blog in the Sibling Rivalry series that you’ve read, I encourage you to make your way through the first six. There are lots of practical tips that will help you on your journey to teach your children how to love. I’ll also be posting more in this category from time to time so stay clicked in.

For more quick and easy parenting tips for bringing change to your family, we recommend “Parenting at the Speed of Life”

(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Bible Teacher)