Raising kids can be fun, difficult, exhausting, exciting, challenging, thrilling, nerve-racking, joyful and rewarding—all wrapped into one wonderful experience. As your kids grow up, there are always certain things you want to do with them and certain places that you want to take them. “When they get old enough, we need to take them here. During the summer, we need to go over there. Before they leave for college, we need to travel there one more time.” Where did you always want to take your kids?
It depends on the parents and the kids, but there are always wishes and dreams of varying sizes. Some parents might say: “I want to take my kids to…the playground, the movies, Chick-fil-A, the zoo, the beach, the mountains, Disney, the big game, DC, Alaska, Hawaii, Europe, etc., etc., etc.” Why? We want to show them how much we love them! We want to have fun together! We want to make great memories! We want to spend time together!
While growing up, my parents loved to travel. We went all over this country multiple times and drove from West Palm Beach to Alaska two different times. They wanted to take their kids to loads of beautiful and exciting places. And what a blast we all had! But do you know the greatest place that they wanted to take all of their children? It is, coincidentally, the greatest place that you can take your children! And guess, what? There’s good news! It doesn’t cost any money! Every single family can afford it! After the tens of thousands of miles that my parents drove all over this country with their kids, the trip that they wanted the most, worked on the most and gave the most to attain was when they decided very early on: “I want to take my kids to heaven!”
What trip do you want to take your kids on the most? The only place that matters is whether they get to heaven or not! You can’t force them, anymore than Noah could force his boys to get on the ark! But…
You can “take them” if you TEACH them! Teach them about God, about Jesus, about the Bible, about the cross, about the empty tomb, about absolute truth, about the church, about sin, about salvation, about heaven, about hell, about the second coming, about eternity.
You can “take them” if you SHOW them! Show them the joy of being a Christian, the love you have for Christ, the blessing of being in His church, the peace of trusting God, the satisfaction of serving others, the narrow path to eternal life.
Why do I want to take my kids to heaven? To show them how much I love them! To have fun together! To make great memories! To spent time together!