Most parents could tell stories of their children's spiritual awareness. It is from the spirit that a child's imaginations arise. Children use their imagination to wander far beyond anything our adult minds might comprehend. They often sense the presence of good and evil spirits, sometimes seeing angels and ghosts, in spite of parental unbelief, much like the popular movie “The Sixth Sense”. Children need to find a way of expressing what their spirits sense. Parents need not suppress a child's imagination as something unreal or unimportant, or they will effectively teach their children not to trust their primal intuition and imaginative gifts. As parents, we need to treasure their imaginations as valuable assets, which will eventually teach them to sort between the seen and unseen world. With imagination being one of the most valuable gifts God has given to humanity, Christian parent's need to learn to shepherd their children's imaginations more than any other capability. Parent's who believe it is their responsibility to hold back their children's imagination and intuition often hinder their children's future response to a visionary prayer life. Yet the Holy Spirit wonderfully restores to the children of God the creativity of the spiritual realm of the imagination.
In Mathew18: 3-5 Jesus said, I say unto you, except you be changed and become as little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever is humbled as a child will be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And whoever receives such a child in my name receives me This verse illustrates the importance of maintaining our spiritual inheritance in child-like ways, that is, in unwavering acceptance of God's truth.
When children are young, they may not understand the theological implications of faith. They don't reflect on the theoretical intricacies involved, but they do associate a word with an experience. Spiritual words that are experienced in a consistent spiritual context advance the atmosphere for the spiritual development of children. If they experience repetitious inconsistency between what they hear and what they see, the confusion they experience will ultimately be spiritually wounding to their souls. If children hear words about love and truth, but live with parents or others who contradict these, they will be spiritually disadvantaged. Children need a consistent environment to be able to associate the words of the gospel with a clear and positive experience. As they become older, children go beyond basic associations of experience into an experience of belonging to a faith-based community. When children feel they belong to a community of faith, they see that being a Christian isn't just an idea in the mind, but that it's a change of heart and a way of life.
God holds adults responsible for presenting our children with an environment in which their souls may spiritually thrive. That environment should be one with Biblical guidelines. Some appropriate verses are: Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother for this is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4. Suffer the little children to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew19: 14)
Spiritual maturity comes to children sooner than some people want to believe. At a young age, they can understand about themselves and God, and they have a consciousness of sin. As they mature spiritually they will understand that they have a choice in their sin. The concept of repentance then follows. They have to understand that they have chosen to sin and genuinely feel regret that they did it. They must have this appropriate guilt and not just be sorry they were found out. At this point children can understand the concrete concept of Jesus' redemption for us on the cross, that is, that He took our punishment in our stead in order to give us eternal life with the Father.
Another important passage describes a biblical scene, where a friend goes to a neighbor requesting food to set before a traveling friend who has come in the night. Don't trouble me: the door is shut now and my children are in bed with me. I can't get up and give you anything. Luke 11:7 During this period of time, children often slept along side their parents, and the time before going to sleep was a respected time for sharing God's truth with children. It was deemed inappropriate to interrupt this special time. And yet Christ said that because of the friendship, he should rise up and give him whatever he needs. Yet too often, we sacrifice our children's time with us for causes that seem more worthy. We need to be careful about neglecting their time with us for spiritual growth, even though we must sometimes do other worthy things.
