The Christmas season reminds us, among many other things, that we want our kids to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. Leading the spiritual development of our children can seem daunting, though.

According to a Barna study released in 2022, about 42% of self-identified Christian parents and 51% of practicing Christian parents are “very” concerned about their children’s spiritual development.

I consider these statistics encouraging. We, as parents, have a strong desire for our children to develop a relationship with their Savior.

Even so, the research shows us that while we feel a healthy pressure to disciple our children, we as a whole feel ill-equipped to do the job. Barna recently reported that about half of parents understand it is their responsibility to disciple their children, but a staggering 86 percent of parents say they are not equipped to teach the spiritual lessons their kids learn at church.

We know there are vehicles for family discipleship available to us: church attendance, family devotionals, Bible studies and craft activities, daily prayer guides, faith talks, Sunday school classes, Christ-centered family activity lists, Bible camps, multi-generational mentorships. Where and how do we start?

God’s Word shows us that we can have a single focus, from which all else will flow. All else will flow from this one resolution on our part.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Remember this one thing, and breathe easy when you feel the overwhelm of training up your children in God’s ways.

In Matthew 22:34-38, when asked which commandment is “the great commandment in the Law,” Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (emphasis added).

This one resolution rules them all. God understands the mental load that you carry. He gave you one great commandment to remember when rules, tasks and difficulties multiply.

In Deuteronomy 6, God outlines an explicit call to disciple our children, but he starts with the heart of the parent.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (emphases added).

The steps that follow his great commandment are not additional steps for a parent who loves the Lord. They are the natural expression of our hearts when we pursue our God.

In a world of assignments, God gave us a singular focus: love your God. God’s Word tell us this focus is the main focus. All else will follow. If we do this, we will disciple our children well.

We can see the evidence of God’s strategy for us as parents.

In 2022, Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center reported on the role of parents in shaping their children’s worldview, biblical or otherwise.

Tracy F. Munsil, the Executive Director, wrote that a parent’s robust faith has a dramatic effect on the spiritual development of their children.

Munsil said, “The overwhelming majority of American parents today lack a biblical worldview and a robust faith that they can pass on to their children, which could dramatically hamper the spiritual development of the next generation.”

Our robust faith is the foundation for effective family discipleship.

The Bible also gives us an example of how our faith naturally leads to a life of powerful witness to our households—in the story of the wise men.

In Matthew 2:1-11, the Bible gives an account of the wise men discovering King Jesus.

[A]fter Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ … [They were told], ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet.’ … After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

The wise men sought Jesus with a singular focus. They likely travelled around 800-900 miles from Persia to find Jesus. The journey likely took between several months and two years to complete. They travelled through difficult terrain, sacrificed significant resources, and made careful logistical plans. They uprooted themselves and all who accompanied them to follow Jesus.

When they found Jesus, the wise men rejoiced exceedingly with great joy at his presence.

As GotQuestions.org summarizes it, they “were men who 1) read and believed God’s Word, 2) sought Jesus, 3) recognized the worth of Christ, 4) humbled themselves to worship Jesus, and 5) obeyed God rather than man. They were truly wise men!”

The wise men journeyed with one focus—to find King Jesus, and as a direct result, they were powerful witnesses to all who were in their company.

This year, keep one resolution, and you will disciple well. Seek the Lord. (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Watch or listen to me walk through this article on Tired But Called on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcast.