Several years ago several people traveled from Fort Worth, Texas to Denton, Texas to help a friend. Called to pastor the church, we went to help him get started. We worked on the physical structure but we also knocked on doors and invited people to attend.

Of all the doors we knocked on and all the people we invited, there are four people I will not soon forget. It was a dad and his three children. The wife/mother was no longer a part of their lives.

We invited the dad to church. His response was, “No, I am not interested.” He was not mean about it. He was just that blunt and that direct.

So, we said that we would like to invite the children to attend and began to explain what the church would have to offer the children. To which the dad replied, “No, they would not be interested. You see, I have decided to not teach them anything about God, Jesus, or the church. When they are old enough, they can decide for themselves what they would like to believe.”

This dad was convinced he had arrived at a wise position – to let the children decide for themselves. However, I am guessing he would not have left them to make other decisions for themselves. Decisions like what to eat. Would he let them have candy for breakfast, cotton candy for lunch, and ice cream for dinner? Probably not.

You might be thinking, but that’s different. Yes, it is radically different. Because when we are talking about God, Jesus, and the Church, we are talking about spiritual matters. We are talking about eternal destiny matters. We are talking about matters that matter. We are talking about whether they will spend an eternity in heaven or an eternity in hell.

Those children are adults now. I wonder how they turned out. I hope they are doing well.

Your influence with your children and grandchildren is powerful and can be life changing. What kind of influence would you like to be for them today?