"Until Christ is formed in you": Nurturing the spirituality of children

Theology Today, Apr 1999 by Dawn, Marva J

Parents and other mentors can instill a sense of Christian vocation in children by discussing with them their own daily decisions in relation to biblical faith, the connections they see between spiritual practices and ordinary life, their occupational choices as avenues for Christian service.37 By these conversations, we work toward the youngsters' (and our own) Shalom, the peaceful wholeness of integrating all of life, made possible by reconciliation first with God and thereby with ourselves and our neighbors.

The greatest gift in the midst of pain and ongoing problems with my jaw is the spiritual hope that someday all suffering will be ended; this is our hope in nurturing our children's spirituality also. We are citizens of God's kingdom, and if we live now in light of eternity, our present mentoring burdens and concerns for our children's spiritual welfare are put in better perspective.

This is not to cop out of the arduous responsibility; it is to know that we are not alone in it. It is to be confident, with eschatological Joy, that because of the resurrection all the powers of evil have been defeated. The sureness of the resurrection enables us to be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because [we] know that in the Lord [our] labor is not in vain" (1 Cor 15:58). Many of the suggestions in the paragraphs above are difficult-and made even more so by a contradictory culture; that is precisely why spirituality is so often reduced to a quick-fix technique. Instead, these practices for nurturing children will require our whole lives and the entire life of our churches, but thereby the children can learn the delight of giving their whole lives to God-that it is the greatest Joy possible to serve as ambassadors of God's reign by living in his eternal presence now.

Worship is our most important practice for developing in our children eschatological spirituality, for the congregation proleptically displays God's tabernacling presence, the Scripture readings continually teach us new dimensions of God's reign, the music in its diversity represents the whole people of God throughout time and space, the sermon paints a vision of God's kingdom for worshipers to enter,38 and the Eucharist gives us a foretaste of the feast to come. I'm troubled by the present push in many churches to make worship completely like the culture around us,39 for that belies the alternative nature of God's reign in its gracious forgiveness, genuine freedom, and generous faithfulness. In our society of deadening conformity and decreasing culture, training our children in genuine worship invites them into the uniqueness, the larger purposes and meaning, the surpassing splendor of God's dwelling with and in us now and into the future.

To nourish Christian spirituality in the church's children is to help them discover the grace of the Triune God and to live in response to it. If we-their parents, pastors, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, and fellow congregational members-live in the light of eternity, our love for God and our love for the children will birth in them the desire to participate in the splendor and sacrifice of discipleship, too.