Grace based parenting is simply treating your kids the way God treats you. God doesn’t nag us, guilt us, shame us, compare us, insult us, yell at us, marginalize us, trivialize us, control us, ignore us, or write us off. He doesn’t get exasperated with us regardless of how exasperating we are. He simply loves us in a way that we desperately need but don’t deserve. Never throwing out the rulebook, or the consequences for poor choices, He sees our greatest potential and nurtures us toward that.
When we create an atmosphere of grace for our kids to grow up in (just like Jesus creates for us), we meet the three core inner needs that every child is born with:
- A secure love
- A significant purpose
- A strong hope
There are four wonderful freedoms offered by grace-based homes that consistently bring out the best in our children:
- The freedom to be different.
- The freedom to be vulnerable.
- The freedom to be candid.
- The freedom to make mistakes.
Parents can leverage God’s grace to build six key character muscles into their children. They are the muscles of:
- Faith
- Integrity
- Poise
- Disciplines
- Endurance
- Courage
And finally, where is this all headed? My challenge to parents is to aim their kids at what God would consider “true greatness.” True greatness is a kid that moves into adulthood with a passionate love for Jesus that consistently shows itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others. Parents are shown how to build four wonderful qualities of God’s gracious heart into their children:
- Humility
- Gratefulness
- Generosity
- A servant’s spirit.
Leave a Reply