Give them grace

Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus offers few guidelines and no rules for Christian parents. It’s premise is simple: talk about the gospel all the time. This is not bad advice. Yes, the authors, Elyse Fitpatrick and her daughter, repeat themselves a lot. But it is a message worth repeating.

Everybody wants well-behaved kids. Their thesis is that grace alone distinguishes Christian parenting from that of Jewish or Muslim parents, for example. Our kids need to know that their relationship with God is not merit-based, that their achievements result from God’s benevolence, that their failures are covered by Christ’s blood. And that He is there to help if they call on Him. Otherwise, we end up with rebels or Pharisees, defeated kids or proud ones.

No quick fixes. No pop-psychology. No ten steps. The book offers hope, if we “dazzle them with the love of Jesus.” Give Them Grace is a helpful corrective to making more rules, and a healthy reminder that grace is sufficient. Even for parents. If you are looking for a hands-on guide, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for hope, it might be.

Read it and weep.

I did.