Parents, how is it going? Most of us have now been with our kids all day, every day, for almost a month. So, how is it going? Are you exhausted with reminding your children to listen to you and do what you say?

If you’re like a lot of parents, you have a growing appreciation for the hard work teachers do every day in the classroom and are continuing to do in new ways from home. And, I can assure you that they are thankful for what you’re now doing to help your children continue to learn. But, there is something else that’s important for all of us to learn in these unprecedented times as we seek to love and raise our kids the best we can.

Just like you with your children, Jesus, our ultimate teacher, is speaking to us too. He says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

This is an amazing truth and promise from God and is this month’s theme verse as we explore the virtues of a Faithful Follower.

Jesus is saying that his followers hear his voice and follow him. Sometimes he gives us the faithfulness and ability to obey right away, and sometimes we struggle, but that doesn’t mean the Lord has stopped talking to his children.

We can trust this because the Bible has given us excellent examples of God’s faithfulness, even toward disobedient children. Throughout all of sacred history God’s people have heard his voice and have been guided toward obedience.

You might be thinking, so what is God saying to us now and how are we supposed to follow him? Or, in times of uncertainty, how can we listen to God and follow him faithfully? The answer is in the next verse of John 10, right after our theme verse. Let’s look at the entire passage more closely and see how God wants us to listen and follow—even among the chaos happening as a result of the Coronavirus.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” - John 10:27-30.

Listen: Jesus gives us eternal life. Nothing can snatch those whom Jesus loves from his hands. Nothing can separate us from the love of God; not famine, not financial distress, not a worldwide pandemic. “Who can separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35). The answer is no one. Let’s listen and know that God loves us and protects us through all circumstances, and let’s teach our children these truths.

Follow: Since Jesus and the Father are one, we follow Jesus and return his love by obeying God’s commands. God’s commands are summed up as statements of love spoken by Jesus. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Let’s follow God by learning and doing all that this means.

There are resources listed below to help you in this process. This time of being at home with our families gives us the greatest chance to dig into God’s Word—to know him better and follow God’s commands. Let’s teach our children to follow God as we faithfully follow him.

Would you like to know more? Please reach out to me with questions any time. Here are a few resources to help you lead your family on how to listen and follow God.