The Greatest Invitation: Tips from The Polar Express on Teaching Your Children about Faith
Click here to download this parenting resource (WORD / PDF).
Invitations... The Polar Express is full of them. Invitations to trust the unknown, to journey into the mysterious, to cross treacherous boundaries, and to ride a fantastic train that goes to a place where children’s dreams come true. But ultimately it is an invitation to believe in the wonderful, magical figure of Santa himself.
The question in The Polar Express is, "Will the Boy in The Polar Express accept the invitation?" The question we ask as parents is, "Will our children accept the invitation of Jesus Christ?"
The first invitation comes from the conductor. He will not force the Boy to board the train. He only extends the call. The Boy must choose for himself. An invitation later comes from the Boy to the lonely boy. He must join them on the journey! Invitations continue from the Hobo who extends his hand of safety and ultimately from Santa himself as the boy receives the first gift of Christmas. The invitation to believe is one the Boy can no longer refuse. He accepts what his heart knows to be true. It is unexplainable, audacious, ridiculous, and magnificent. It is ultimately a question of faith.
The Bible defines faith this way, “Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.” Hebrews 11:1 (NCV).
Faith… believing in what we cannot see… hearing the bell that others no longer hear.
As children grow, a parent’s job is more than teaching them about faith. Instead, parents have the privilege of guiding their kids while granting them freedom to grow into their faith, to ask questions, and to journey into what cannot be seen. It is teaching them to trust and to accept the invisible, inaudible invitations of God. As the conductor of The Polar Express said, “sometimes seeing is believing. And sometimes…the most real things in the world…are the things we can’t see.”
Will children always believe? Will they always hear the jingling of the bell? The chance is good that they will – if parents take the time to foster their kids’ faith in God, initiating conversations about faith, listening to them, answering their questions, and providing opportunities for them to experience and live out this daily invitation. Here then, are some tools to help parents help their kids as they travel on the journey to mature, lasting faith.
Tips for Teaching Your Children about Faith
• Pray for them every day. There is nothing more powerful a parent can do for their child than to pray for him or her. After all, if you aren’t praying for them, who is?
• Read the Bible to them and provide them with a Bible that is easy to read and understand. Filling your child’s mind and heart with scripture is like depositing gold into your bank account. It will never fade away and becomes more valuable over time. Have a weekly night set aside for a family devotional. This can be a fun way for the family to learn, laugh, and play together as you all grow in your understanding of God. Make sure the Bible or the family devotions that you are reading are age appropriate. Check the HomeWord online store or your local Christian bookstore for Children’s Bibles and other resources that are written for children of all ages.
• Get involved in your local church. Too often, parents drop their children off at church and then go out to breakfast or go back to bed. Families that worship together regularly are setting faith development as a high priority. Children watch and learn what parent’s model for them.
• Develop a language of faith at home. Make it comfortable to talk about God, Jesus, and things of faith. This doesn’t have to be “churchy” or super holy language but instead is natural conversation that incorporates things of faith when appropriate. For example, when you see a beautiful sunset, remark to your child on the beauty of God’s creation. When you hear a siren, pray with your child for the health and safety of everyone involved. Also encourage your child to listen to Christian music. Current research indicates the greatest predictor that a child will develop and carry a mature faith into adulthood is simply having regular conversations about faith with their parents!
• Seize the teachable moments. Holidays, births, deaths, transitions, and other real life situations provide numerous opportunities to talk about faith.
• Keep it simple. Children don’t need a theological treatise about creation when they ask where babies come from. Keep your answers simple and age appropriate.
• Keep your own faith growing and active. Children are constantly watching us and learning more from what we do than what we say. If we want our children to grow in their faith, we must continue growing in ours.
The invitation to believe remains today but with a reward that far outshines the silver bell seen in The Polar Express. Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you and you will eat with me.” Revelation 3:20 (NCV)
Jim Burns is the President and founder of HomeWord and host of HomeWord’s 1-minute and 30-minute daily radio programs heard across the United States.
Leslie Snyder is a long-time youth and family ministry veteran, mom of two daughters, and serves with her husband, Jim in a local congregation in the Kansas City area.
