Teaching Our Children to Return To Jesus
Amanda Crews
January 21, 2025

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
(Matthew 28:19, English Standard Version)
Our life revolves around our kitchen table. We begin our day with breakfast, complete our homeschool work, craft and work, eat lunch and dinner, pray, and even play games gathered around it. We talk about the hard things and laugh about the wild ones. It’s the staple of our home. It’s cluttered and littered with the previous activity, and I often feel agitated by the fact that our table is never cleared completely. However, this is life, and it represents our walk with Jesus.
Just like our table, life is messy, cluttered, filled with day-to-day activities, and yet there’s still enough grace to gather round it. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV) reads, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Regardless of what we experienced the day before or what’s coming tomorrow, we continue to return to the table every single day, just like we are teaching our children to return to Jesus daily.
Feeling like a mess? Return to Him.
Overloaded with work? Clear some space and sit down with Him.
Stressed and anxious? Have a warm drink across from Him.
Too many decisions? Slow down and have a seat with Him.
Messed up big time? Go home and feel His love.
The beauty of being at the table with Jesus is there’s always room and despite how crazy and cluttered life is, there will always be a seat for you, and that’s what we need to teach our children. It’s not an “If we mess up, go to Jesus” conversation we are having in our home; it’s a “When you mess up, run to Jesus” talk we are having and modeling.
When we read Scripture, we see that Jesus spent a lot of time at the table as well. He ate with tax collectors and sinners and also people that didn’t always agree with Him, like the Pharisees and other religious leaders. Jesus met with believers and unbelievers there. As His followers, He instructed us to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19, ESV)). As parents, our first ministry will always be our children, and it should be our top priority to introduce them to Jesus and who He is. However, we cannot do that without a personal and grace-filled relationship with Jesus, Himself, and our children. In the same way Jesus operated, relationships are still built around the table, surrounded by hot food and good company. Whether or not our children are walking with the Lord or wayward, whether we agree with their life decisions or not, they will always have a seat at our table. Even more importantly, they will be shown the love and grace we all receive but don’t deserve. This is my encouragement to you to "Go, therefore, and make disciples, around your table. It doesn’t matter if it’s messy and covered with a home cooked meal or McDonalds, let it be a safe haven that represents Christ’s love in your own home.”