No One Does Good

All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one. Romans 3:12

MOST OF US COULD MAKE a list of the ways our children need to change. We could catalog the sins our children need to repent of. But we would be very uncomfortable naming our own sins and confessing our own need for ongoing repentance. Especially to our children. We don’t want them to know what big sinners we are. We have no problem admitting that we have sinned in a general sense, but we certainly don’t want to get specific. We think we preserve our credibility for disciplining them by keeping our sin under wraps, but what we’re really doing is depriving our children of what they need most from us —an example of living in light of the gospel.

Our children must do more than make a single decision for Christ; they need a daily experience of grace through Christ. We all do. But if we are unwilling to admit our constant need of a Savior, how will our children grow in their understanding of their own daily need for Jesus? We simply can’t share the gospel with our children if we’re not living in it ourselves.

Since every single person in our house is a sinner, it will not be news to our children that we sin. But it could be a real turning point for how they understand the gospel if we are honest with them about our own struggle against sin and our own need for the grace of repentance. On those days when our sins are on display for all to see, instead of justifying or hiding them, we can simply and humbly acknowledge that we need Jesus just as much as everyone else in our home. We can lead our children to Jesus and teach them the truth of the gospel by becoming the chief repenters in our families. Our children will learn what it looks like to walk humbly with their God by observing us walking closely with our God in repentance and obedience.

Lord, I would love for ________ to think that I am better than I really am and that I’m more devoted to you than I really am. Somehow I’ve believed that to parent well I can’t let my children know about my sin. But that is not wisdom; it’s pride. When I present Christianity as a system of rules rather than as a welcome for sinners, I push ________ away from you rather than toward you. So give me the courage to come clean. Give me the strength to be weak.