I doubt very much that you would hesitate to rescue a child from in front of an oncoming double decker bus. Perhaps even if it meant you would be hit yourself most of us woulnd't think twice about diving into the road to save a little one from impending danger.

It's odd then isn't it that we fail to do that when it comes to our children's spirutual well being.

Most parents are excellent at caring for their children in practical ways. We feed them, clothe them, give them cuddles and love. At birthdays, Christmas, and at times throughout the year we buy them presents to excite them and show them we love them. But do we care for our children spiritually?

By praying for your child, by bringing them regularly to church with you, by living a christian life outside of church we are beginning to care for our children. But we also need to nurture a heart felt concern for their spiritual well being. As they grow up and we look carefully at their school grades, worry about who they are out with, fret over their adolescence, are we also thinking about how they are with God?

If we don't have a strong spiritual life ourselves then it is most likely that we won't have this level of care for our children, and that's a real pity.

Jesus spoke about a big double decker bus which was headed our way, and is certainly headed our children's way too. The double deck bus is the judgement we will all face, and the road it's travelling down is the road made by our own sin. Each of us needs to be saved from it and the only way for that to happen is for us to realise we are sinners, realise that Jesus is the only cure for our sins, and to ask him to forgive us and come and live in our lives. It's a process called being 'born again'. It's very easy, but it's also very challenging and it can only be made by an individual for themself when they are old enough to understand what they are doing. If someone fails to be born again in this life then when they die they do indeed go to hell.

If that happens to your child then all the love, sweets, bed time stories, nice clothes and family holidays will mean nothing, as they will have missed out on the greatest love and greatest present of all - eternity in paradise with a God who loves them and eagerly desires that they come home to Him. 

Jesus said these words: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

Our God is just and fair and will judge us according to the choices we make. If we choose to have nothing to do with Him, if we choose to reject Him and not believe in Him in this life then so be it. But He doesn't want that. He wants to love us, forgive us and welcome us back home. 

Do you care enough about your child to want that for them too?

Will you care for your child and raise them to know this truth, and love God enough to naturally and easily choose Him when they are old enough to ask Jesus into their lives?