This blog post is about how to teach your child about baptism. The topics and analogies used in this post are real examples I have used with my own children. I hope this blog post blesses you and your family. Feel free to share and pin this blog post on Pinterest.
How I teach my children about baptism
Yesterday was epic! My son was baptized by my husband at our home church, and there wasn’t a dry eye on my face! Hehe! The response on Instagram was so amazing! As a result, I wanted to share with you all How I taught my son about baptism.
Obviously, if you know me or follow me on Facebook or Instagram you know that my faith is super important to me. It’s also super important to me that my children learn and understand the foundational elements of our spiritual beliefs. I was so proud of first my daughter and now my son for making the choice to follow Christ and to participate in water baptism.
What is baptism?
First I teach my child that baptism is not a miracle cure. You won’t come out of the water magically transformed into something different. That transformation happens the moment you accept Christ into your life and even then that transformation isn’t magical… It’s spiritual!
It’s important that my kids understand that our commitment to Christ is about trusting His promises (as outlined in the Bible) and by working toward aligning our lives to what Jesus demonstrated while He was here on earth. I also love to share with my kids the idea of Grace. And that nothing we do can ever make us worthy of the love of God, but through his son Jesus we become part of God’s family.
Baptism is an outward demonstration of what we have already decided in our hearts. But it’s an important step to show how proud we are of what Jesus has done and continues to do for us.
Our salvation, or forgiveness for being unperfect, happened when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. And when we get baptized we are saying that we believe that God did all of that for us, so that we could have a lasting relationship with Him.
What Baptism is not?
When I teach my children about baptism, I work really hard to communicate that the transformation is actually in the heart. I share with them, that just because you do nice things for someone doesn’t mean you love them. For example, you could really not like a student at school but you could share your eraser with them. Sharing is a nice thing to do, but it doesn’t mean you are any closer to that student then you were before you shared with them.
Jesus doesn’t want that type of relationship. I share with my children that deciding to get baptized tells Jesus, and the world, that I am going to do my best to treat Jesus with love and honor for my whole life. I share with them that, Jesus understand that you aren’t perfect, and that part of our imperfection is what makes Jesus so amazing.
Why children should get baptized?
The world we live in is crazy! Just watch the news if you need confirmation. And the sooner children can understand the value of God’s grace the better. I truly believe that as soon as a child can understand what it means, I begin to teach my children about baptism.
I do start first with God’s love and the gift that God gave us when he died on the cross. Once my children have a firm understanding of the gospel. (Christ died for our sins, and when we believe that he died for our sins we are saved.) I begin talking to them about baptism.
Our Baptism story
My oldest daughter decided to get baptized when she was 5. My son just decided and he will be 7 in a few months. When children are little it does help if they are not afraid of water. Even a gift as incredible as heaven is hard to look forward to if a child is afraid of dying in the process. Hehe!
I have two more children, and my four-year-old isn’t yet asking questions about baptism, and I have not yet started talking to her about it yet either. I don’t’ think you need to rush into having your child make that decision. When they are ready and if you are willing to teach your child the fundamentals of why baptism is important. Then it will happen at such a glorious God-chosen time!
Xo- Chantea
Also check out How I teach my daughters about outward beauty.
