Eternity- Helping Your Children Understand the Truth
What comes to mind when you hear the word eternity? Eternity is the endless time (meaning forever) of where a person goes after leaving this earth. God provides 2 options- heaven or hell. We all have free will and we can only choose 1 of these destinations. As parents, we should be teaching our children about eternity. Kids have the ability to understand this concept if you take the time to teach them about it, even at a young age.
I believe that the word hell makes people feel uncomfortable, and understandably so. It’s not pleasant to hear that someone could end up in a place burning of fire and gnashing of teeth forever after dying. But God says it exists and that Christians are to tell the truth about what He says in His word. He gives us a choice in life- to receive His free gift of salvation by apologizing for our sins and accepting His son, Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. It also means your life must change and align with His standards if you are a true Christian. The other option is to refuse to believe (it’s your choice) but that you will go to hell separated from Him forever.
As parents, we should not take teaching our kids about eternity lightly. It’s best to teach your kids about God and show love to them so they will want to accept Christ as their Savior. It’s helpful to ask yourself where you want your kids to spend eternity. God will hold us accountable for everything He puts us in charge over, and in this case it means teaching our children. It will be our children’s decision whether or not to receive salvation. We can’t make them become saved. Some may get saved as young children, some as teenagers, and some as adults. It’s our job, as parents, to present them with the truth, model God’s love, and pray for them to receive Christ as their Savior.
I hope this encourages you to think about this and make a commitment to teach your kids about eternity based off the Bible. Parenting Toolkit 1: Teaching Your Children Who God is and What It Means to Be a Christian, is available on the Free Resources page to help you with this in kid friendly language. Another resource available to you that can help when teaching about this concept are the Word of the Week Vocabulary Cards Set #3: Christian Faith. My husband and I have used these resources to teach and review with our kids about eternity.
Here are some Bible verses to help with your understanding of eternity. John 3:16-18 is about salvation. Philippians 3:20-21 and John 14:1-3 are about heaven. Matthew 13:49-50 is about hell. My family and I read from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. If you don’t have a physical Bible, you can always use the Bible app on your phone or Google the verses.
Please take time to help your kids. This world is crazy. All the destruction taking place proves the Bible is true. If you read in the Bible about the end times you will understand what I mean. Receiving God’s gift of salvation will provide you with the help and peace of mind that you need in life when you make an effort to have a personal relationship with Him. It opens the door to living a good life that’s full of purpose. It’s so important to guide our kids along the right path. You can do this with God’s help!