Evangelization of the Children: Who will do it?

I wonder how many of us parents ever stop to think about the fact that our children are being evangelized all day, every day.

I am not talking about the evangelization of the Good News of God’s love and His call to holiness. I am speaking of the proclamation of an anti-gospel, one that proclaims the following lies: Your worth is based on who you hang out with, what you do on a Saturday night; your happiness depends on what clothes you wear, what kind of cell phone you own, how good looking you are, whether or not you’ve got a boyfriend or girlfriend, whether or not you’re “having sex.” It claims that a baby isn’t a human being but a “choice,” and that the elderly have nothing to offer or teach us because they are "old," that they aren’t “useful” or "valuable" to society anymore. This anti-gospel is imbedded in the culture like cancer cells in a body. It isn't the culture, but it permeates the very mind and heart of the culture. 

I’m not trying to scare you… oh, wait a minute: yes, I am. We parents need to be startled. We need to wake up. Especially those of us who call ourselves Christian but just sort of go through the motions. 

Before the phrase “Good News” was used by Saint Mark in reference to the message and salvific mission of Jesus Christ, it described the announcements made from the emperor in Roman society. Today’s society isn’t all that different. The “good news” our culture proclaims is often self-centered, materialistic, consumerist, and morally relativistic drivel. We see the fruit of this “good news” in the number of abortions performed every day. We see it in the brokenness in our families. We see it in the drug and alcohol abuse, in the number of teens engaging in premarital sex, the debate on whether or not marriage is between a man and a woman (is this seriously a question?). Our culture seems to worship about every god there is except the one true God.

So what to do? First off, we need to recognize how critical it is that our children learn about God. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Our children need to be taught (by word and deed) that they were created by God and for God. Very simple (though the world distracts us from the simple beauty of this truth). They need to hear that Jesus Christ is the fullness of God’s self-revelation, that in Christ we discover and are connected to this God who loves us and desires relationship with us. They need to discover that Jesus Christ founded a Church to lead them to heaven and the ultimate happiness they were created to enjoy.

They need to learn these things from us, their parents. We need to be the “first evangelizers” in their lives. If we don’t take the time to evangelize our children, the culture is happy to do it for us. But a warning: the culture’s “good news” of self-fulfillment is far different than the Good News of Jesus Christ that calls them to live lives of selfless love, and that invites them to salvation and life. 

What truths about God and His Kingdom are we going to teach our children today?