Luke 16:31 “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

Do your children want you to do everything for them? Do they wait for you to help them do their homework when you know they are capable of doing it themselves? Do they complain they don’t know how to do that chore you have shown them fifteen times? Now there is nothing wrong with helping your child, but they must learn to do these things on their own at some point.

The rich man in this story begs God to make special efforts to show his brothers, who were still alive, how to get to heaven. He doesn’t believe his brothers will recognize the need for salvation on their own. God simply says, “They have all the instructions they need. They just need to listen to My Word.” Wow! That’s kind of harsh, isn’t it?

Not really. God is a just and fair God. He loves each of us the same and shows each of us how to surrender to His Will. He knows that many will reject Him but will, at the last minute, want to negotiate a deal. Oops! Too late!

Our children have to learn from us that there are some things in life that are nonnegotiable. Salvation is one of those. There is ONLY we way to the Father. That is through Jesus Christ His Son. No matter what the world does to try make it fit the culture of today, there is only one path to God.

Teaching our children to rely on God for everything is the key. They will all reach a point when they will not need us anymore, but they will always need their Heavenly Father. They will always need His Word. They will always need the Holy Spirit’s guidance. But we must let them come to Him on their own. By that I mean we can’t force feed salvation. We must pray for God to draw them to Himself and then leave the rest up to Him. And He will. Remember it is God’s will that all men be saved. That includes your child.