“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2

Before the Lord delivered me from teaching school, I was required to go to a Christian education seminar each year.  At one of those seminars a man by the name of Bob Thomas made a statement that has always stuck with me. He said, “When we work with children we become stewards of God’s potential.”  Wow, what an astounding thought!  We who are in the position of leading children (whether it be in parenting, youth ministry, Sunday school, or school teaching) truly have been given stewardship over something of tremendous importance, the life of a child—a life that God wants to use in a mighty way. We have been given the awesome, and many times overwhelming, responsibility of directing a child into doing God’s will for his life.  What is God’s will?  Simply put, it is God’s will that we become conformed to the image of Christ.  We are given the responsibility to lead children into a relationship with God and teach them, through Scriptural principle and personal example, how to surrender their lives to God’s direction.  After all, if God is God, then let him be God!  If God is who he claims to be, them we should let Him do His job!

However, before God’s will can be accomplished in anyone’s life, they’re mind (and by default, their life) must become transformed.  There are many circumstances and people who affect children in a negative way, and the results are damaging.  There are children whose lives are in turmoil who need a transformation that can only come as the result of salvation and the working of God in their lives.  I believe God uses us in youth work as the instruments of this transforming work.  So the question bears asking, “How can we affect transformation in the life of a child?” 

There are three ways I believe we can transform a child’s life:

I.                    Transforming by showing them how to Love.

Love means different thing to different people in our society.  There are some who equate love with lust and sexual experience.  There are teenagers everywhere who give up their purity in pursuit of love.  Love, for most of us is conditional.  We only love if certain criteria are met, and once that criterion can no longer be met, we no longer offer our love.   Why do you think the divorce rate is so high?  People who were once in love and set out to spend their life together suddenly no longer love each other.  Why?  Because the criteria upon which they based their love is no longer being me.  Their love is conditional.  Children need to learn about what it means to love unconditionally—the way God loves us.  We can do that by doing three things:

1.     Loving them Equally.  Children should know that they have their parent’s love, their youth pastor’s love, their Sunday school teacher’s love regardless of academic achievement.  They should have this love regardless of attitude.  We should love the child who rebels as much as we love the child who obeys.  We should love the child who hates us, hates God, hates the church, or hates the Bible.  After all, God does!

2.     Loving them Individually.  Each child is a unique creation of God.  They should not be compared to each other.  One mistake that parents make is comparing one sibling to another.  We can hear the hallways of many homes echo the familiar rant, “Why can’t you act more like your brother/sister!”  They don’t act the same because they are not the same.  The only person to whom any of us should be compared is the Lord Jesus Christ.  After all, each child is created by Him and for Him, and placed in our care by Him.

3.     Loving them Spiritually.  If you were to span the universe, you would not find anything as precious as a human soul.  They are so valuable, in fact, that Jesus died to save them.  We must show children how much they are worth by showing how much we love them spiritually.  We should not just spend our time correcting the outside; we need to show our concern for the inside!

II.                   Transforming by showing them how to live.  Jesus said that he came that we might have life more abundantly (John 10:10).  There is no greater life than one dedicated to, and transformed by, the Lord.  You can help transform a child’s life by doing two things:

1.     Living a life that is Christ-like.  Does your life reflect Christ?  Children learn so much more by example than they do by instruction.  You can tell a child all you want how to life a Christ-like life, but you will never transform a child until you demonstrate Christ-likeness in your own life.

2.     Living a life that is Consistent.  Not only should you be Christ-like, you must be consistent.  We should be consistent in our actions (if something is evil one day, it should be evil the next day!).  We should be consistent in our teachings.  We should be consistent in our discipline. God never changes, and it is His will that we be conformed to his image.  You can transform the life of a child by just being consistent.  If church is important one Sunday, it should be equally important the next Sunday.  Are you consistent in you Bible reading? What about your prayer life.  If you are not consistent in your life, how can you lead a child to be? 

III.                  Transforming by showing them how to live. Children are mean.  It is a fact of life.  They pick on each other.  You cannot shelter your child from it. No matter if they wear the latest fashions or wear hand-me-downs, there will always be something about which others will find fault.  However, that should not be said of you.  You can transform a child by lifting them up.  How can you lift a child? You can:

1.     Lift them through Encouragement.  Learn to be encouraging more than you are discouraging! The Bible says in Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech be alway with grace…” In another text the Bible says, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ…” (Philippians 4:6).  Children hear so many negative messages every day.  Transform their lives by presenting them positive messages as often as possible.

2.     Lift them though Exhortation.  I have heard it said that, “A verse of Scripture a day keeps the Psychiatrist away.”  Encouragement and exhortation are two different things.  When you encourage a child, you are helping to give them confidence.  You are a cheerleader on their team.  When you exhort a child, you are urging them, pressing them, to do right.  Exhort through Scripture.  Never let an opportunity pass without instructing them in the ways of the Lord.  

We are stewards of God’s potential.  Are you being a good steward?  Are you taking every opportunity to transform the lives that God has entrusted to your care?  Let us be good stewards of that which the Lord has given us.