Have you ever seen a toddler throw a tantrum and wondered, “Where in the world did THAT come from?” It didn’t start in that moment. It started in the Garden of Eden, where the legacy of disobedient children began.

When Adam and Eve reached for the forbidden fruit, they weren’t just breaking a rule. They were creating an inheritance of disobedience, spiritually passed from one generation to the next. That rebellious impulse has echoed through every generation since. Every child born carries that same disobedient heart.

So when Paul tells children to obey their parents in Colossians 3:20, he’s calling them to do something against their grain, against their natural constitution. You don’t have to teach a toddler to say “no” or model defiance for a teenager. It’s already there, wired in by the curse of Eden. Genuine, willing obedience has to come from somewhere else entirely.

And that’s exactly where Christ enters the story.

When a child surrenders to Jesus, that inherited, stubborn heart begins to change. The Spirit takes up residence and begins bending that resistant will toward love. Obedience shifts from avoiding punishment to honoring God, from following rules to reflecting a transformed heart.

Paul doesn’t just say “obey your parents.” He says, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” That last phrase, “for this pleases the Lord,” changes everything. It moves the motivation from obligation to devotion.

A child living for Christ won’t obey perfectly. But they will obey differently—willingly, gratefully, freed from the tyranny of their own rebellion. What Adam and Eve destroyed in the garden, Jesus restores at the cross, even the sacred bond between a parent and their child.

Change begins in you!