This is a fallen world, and your children are guaranteed to meet pain, loneliness, and discouragement as they make their way within it, doubly so if they are pursuing holiness. Every great athlete endures hours of hard work and discipline of the spirit to win the prize, to receive the crown.

In the same way, you can train the hearts and spirits of your children to endure in the face of hardship so they can be like Paul, who “finished the course” to receive “the crown of righteousness” from “the Lord, the righteous Judge” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). You can teach them to run their race in faith, to fight their battles well, and to become heroes in the story of God.

Read more about this in 10 Gifts of Heart.