When my parents came to Australia they came with two suitcases, 11 dollars, and me.  

While there were many joys, life was tough. Yet from my parents I learned many things which I still use now.

Has your family faced tough times? 

Times were also tough in Bible times. Just after Jesus died Caesar at the time made Christianity illegal and many people were arrested. Below is part of a letter written to a young man doing it tough and wanting to give up.

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 
8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.    

2 Timothy 1

The first thing Paul highlights is the faith of his mother and grandmother - how cool is that! As a child, Timothy was immersed in the faith of his mother and grandmother. The faith he saw in these two women as a child would become his own as an adult. The work that they put in to him as a child would serve him when he moved out as a man.  

The influence that we parents have on our children is massive - we pass on so many things to our children as they watch us. We must make sure we pass on the good stuff.
This term in the midst of many uncertainties, the challenge for us parents is to share the certainty of our faith rather than uncertainties of our anxieties.  

As a Christian dad, I work hard to make my faith visible to my children: I pray for and with my children; I remind them of God’s big picture in their times of tension; I work really hard to not verbalise my fears or anxieties; I want to immerse them in my faith and not my fears; and I remind them that with God they have everything they need.  

God the Father has their future, God the Son has their past, and God the Spirit will equip them in the present.

Join us at Thomas Hassall this year as we use our influence to make the adults of the future.