5 Ways to Be Christ's Example to Your Kids

Modeling Christ-like behavior has a more significant impact than telling your kids what to do. They watch and observe us constantly. They mimic behaviors they learn and will continue habits they form in childhood.

How do we model the appropriate Christ-like behavior? How do we know the right action to take in a situation? We must study the Bible to know God better and read Jesus’ stories. We can’t exemplify him if we don’t know what He did.

Christ is perfect; He’s God, after all. He never sinned, lied, or had selfish desires. While we would all like to believe we can do something similar, we are not Christ. We will never be perfect. That realization frees us and allows us to model grace and mercy.

Jesus doesn’t expect perfection from us or our children. That is not the standard. If it were, we would all fail miserably. Our goal is to become more and more like Him as we grow and mature in our faith. This takes time, studying the Bible, and letting God do the work in you that only God can do.

Yes, we want to be good examples for our children, but knowing that failing and learning are part of the process will help. In fact, modeling this for your kids can go a long way. Showing them it’s okay not to be perfect and that God loves us anyway is huge. Learning about His grace, forgiveness, and love for us is a wonderful gift.

Now that we have set the expectation of growth, not perfection, let’s discuss ways to be Christ’s example.

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One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the way He forgives. He is the ultimate pardoner. We can only wish to extend a small amount of forgiveness compared to the undeserved, constant forgiveness He shows us. We don’t deserve His forgiveness, but He provides it as a gift.

Showing forgiveness is hard! Extending forgiveness within our family, spouse, or kids can be more challenging than forgiving a friend. I’m not sure why this is, but it is. Therefore, it’s even more important to model forgiveness to our kids, admit our errors, and ask for their forgiveness.

When children are little, you forgive them for breaking something you told them not to touch. As they age, they usually ask for forgiveness for being disrespectful or not being kind to a sibling. Teenagers tend to push the limits and break family rules. As we extend forgiveness over and over again, we model how Christ is constantly forgiving us.

Matthew 18:21-22 states, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

One key is learning to ask forgiveness from your kids when you mess up. If you never do this, they will not understand that parents mess up, too. We also need to ask forgiveness from each other and God. Humbling ourselves and acknowledging our mess-ups goes a long way for our kids.

Extending forgiveness to our kids for their big and small sins is a way we extend God’s love to them and model Christ. They don’t necessarily deserve our forgiveness; however, we give it to them because we love them. They will remember how they messed up over and over, and we kept forgiving them. That translates to adulthood and how Christ keeps forgiving us.

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Being Christ’s example means loving those around us (whether we feel like it or not). Being involved in a church provides opportunities to love those struggling. Someone at church always needs a meal, a ride to church, or some extra care.

Get your kids involved in helping make and deliver a meal. Explain that time is valuable, yet taking care of others is extremely important. Let them see you make an extra effort to care for others.

Most houses we have lived in happen to have a widow living next door. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

I have always made a point of building a relationship with the widows who live near us. I believe it was part of God’s plan to put us near them so we could help look after them. Some have family in town and are well taken care of, but others are lonely and love being included in our family meals or chatting on the phone.

I cared for these widows because the Bible is clear, and I wanted to show them love. I hope my children remember this and choose to take a particular interest in caring for others.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in your own busy schedule. Many times, I feel like I’m barely providing dinner for my crew. However, when you make time to love on a neighbor, church member, or anyone outside your family, you model loving others for your kids.

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Sometimes, it’s hard to believe Jesus had human characteristics, but He did. He felt tired, hungry, and in pain. He had feelings and felt grief when His friend died. It’s easy to forget this because we know He is a holy God.

Jesus modeled selflessness by prioritizing the needs of others over His own. Even when He was tired and hungry, He would teach the people instead of resting or going off to be alone. He didn’t get angry or annoyed at the crowd following him.

Being selfless might be one of the most challenging traits to model. No, not because we are bad people but because putting ourselves first comes naturally. It’s a constant internal battle to put the needs of others first.

As a parent, you naturally learn selflessness because a baby needs a lot of care. As they get older, it’s easy to think our kids don’t need us as much, but they do. Staying connected to teenagers takes time, effort, patience, and persistence. Our kids probably won’t realize the sacrifices we make for them now, and that’s okay, but not many kids do.

There are lots of opportunities to demonstrate selflessness to your kids. Taking time to help them with homework, reading to them before bed, practicing whatever they enjoy, attending their activities, and being invested in their life are just a few. I’m sure there are many nights when you’d rather be asleep or vegging out instead of quizzing them on a science test. However, all these little sacrifices model what it means for your child to put someone else first.

You are modeling Christ's example when you serve your spouse or family.

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The night before Jesus was killed, He went off to pray. He left His disciples to go pray to the Father numerous times. Our children will not see all the times we pray for them, and that’s okay. If we genuinely live out our faith through our church attendance, prayer, and Bible time, our kids will see our desire to have a relationship with God.

Your kids are always watching and observing. They might not be able to understand why you do the things you do fully, but they know your routines. When they get older, they will realize the impact it made on them, watching their parents read the Bible daily or having family worship in the evenings. They may reflect on how they were taken to church every Sunday. These things will stick and hopefully prompt them to create their spiritual habits.

Christ modeled His faith through his actions, knowledge of Scripture, prayer, and genuine kindness for others. We will not get this perfect, but our children will notice if we show our genuine faith.

When obstacles come your family’s way, leaning on Scripture to solve problems is an excellent way to model our faith. Show your kids that the Bible is not just some coffee table book; it’s a book to be used, memorized, and underlined. The better we acquaint ourselves with the Bible, the more a resource it becomes for us and our families.

As your kids grow up, they can bring their Bible anyway. It’s an excellent resource for them to depend on when they are in college and head into adulthood. You may not always be there to help them navigate difficult situations, but modeling your faith along the way and teaching them where to turn in times of distress will give them a solid foundation to build upon.

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