How to Make Your Home A Little Heaven

THE ROOTS of trees go deep. The stronger tree has the deeper and longer roots reaching far down into the earth for moisture. Sometimes the roots are longer than the tree itself.

David tells us that people are like trees. With this comparison in mind, we might think of the roots of the tree as being like our thoughts. If we allow our thoughts to dwell often and long upon the love of God, if we think deeply about the truth of the Bible, we naturally become stronger people. Our roots are sunk deeply in truth – the love of God.

If it is natural for us as parents to think of God’s goodness and love, we will be able to fix our children’s minds upon the things of God. What opportunities do we have every day for turning the thoughts of our children heavenward?

Here is a list of things we can do at home that can channel your children heavenward;

Sing hymns. A mother has just laid her baby in his bed, and as she says goodnight she sings this hymn, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so.” Although the baby is too young to understand the meaning of the words, yet the songs has soothed him/her into a quiet slumber. As the baby grows and learns to talk, he hears his mother say, “I love you Baby”, and he/she tries to say, “I love you, Mother”. Not only does Mother tell him of her love for him, but she tells him of dear Jesus’ love, too.

A little later he/she learns to sing, “Jesus loves me” with his/her mother. Then there begins to grow in his heart the first childish thought of God’s love.

Pray with the children. As soon as your child is old enough to feel your love, he/she is also old enough to know the love of Jesus in his heart. As soon as he/she is able to say, “Father”, or “Mother”, he/she is also able to say “Jesus”. Each night before he/she sleeps, you will kneel with him/her and help him to pray.

As the year pass, you will give him a better understanding of the purpose of prayer. Let them know that a very important part of prayer is asking forgiveness for sin and thanking God for the gift of life. Then you will also wish to teach them to pray for others.

Prayer time each evening will be a happy time, and your children’s thoughts will be “rooting” themselves deeper in the love of God.

Nature reveals God. If you are parents who are privileged to live in the open country, you will find it easier to draw the minds of your children to God’s “book of nature”. As you walk out to the pasture at sunset you can stand for a moment with the children and watch silently the sunset with its glorious colors. They will enjoy naming the colors that they see in the sky. Tell them of the glorious sight that we shall behold at the time of Jesus’ coming.

Tell them stories. We should read the Bible enough so that we can tell the children Bible stories. These lessons of faith in God, of His love and protection, of His kindness, and of His mighty power, will sink into the hearts of your children, deepening their understanding of the goodness of God. Thus their roots of true thinking will be growing ever deeper.

Be sure to have a daily “worship time” with the children in the home. What a fine opportunity we have of bringing our children’s attention to God’s love and care for us as we sit down to eat a meal! You may say: How good God is to supply us with the rain and the sunshine, to make our gardens grow! How thankful we are for this good meal right now! Let us thank Him for these daily blessings

If we will think back over the few aspects of training our children that I have considered in my blog, we will readily see that learning to teach them to appreciate the love of God is by far the most important. It is most important because it covers and embraces all the others. Understanding the love of God will heal all the sicknesses of heart that children know. That is what the Apostle Peter means when he says: “Above all things have fervent love among yourselves; for love shall cover the multitude of sins”. (1 Peter 4:8)

“Parents who make God first in their households, who teach their children that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, glorify God before men by presenting to the world a well-ordered, well-disciplined family – a family that love and obey God. Christ is not a stranger in their homes; His name is a household name, worshiped and glorified. Such families can claim the promise, ‘them that honor me, I will honor’. As from such a home the father goes forth to his daily duties it is with a spirit softened and subdued by converse with God… The home then becomes as an Eden of bliss; the family, a beautiful symbol of the family in heaven”.