None of us can be Landon’s Savior but each of us will have
some part in setting his course for life by our example. The choices we make- our circle of friends,
our possessions, our entertainment, the
music that fills our home, the words we use when we talk about others, Who and
where we worship – shape lives. My
greatest desire when I was actively parenting my own children was not that they
go to an Ivy League college,or that they acquired the skills to become wealthy,
or that they gained positions of power. Before anything else, I desired that
they would become disciples of Jesus.
Bev and I knew that our example was a powerful part of that choice.
I want to live in such a way that I can say, “Follow me as I follow Christ” to Landon.
Jesus’ words are remind us that this a matter of extreme concern to our Father
in Heaven, too. "He put a little child among them. Taking
the child in his arms, he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child
like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not
only me but also my Father who sent me. … But if you cause one of these little
ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown
into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck."
(Mark 9:36-37, 42, NLT)
This is not a call to piety or excessive religiosity around children. Holding back profanity just because children are present, living like the Devil all week and then insisting on going to church every Sunday, are terrible choices. To claim to love people wholeheartedly when in public and then denigrating those of a different race or religion at the dinner table is wrong. Those gaps teach children to be hypocrites, to think that God can be bought with a few trinkets and a couple of hours of feigned worship! God is Lord of Monday as surely as He is of Sunday. "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." (Deuteronomy 6:6-8, NIV) Is the Lord part of every conversation? No, I don’t mean in a forced way, a strain to mention “Jesus” in every paragraph! Is He present?
We choose to love, they learn to love.
We choose to forgive, they learn to forgive.
We choose to seek God first, they learn He is their primary resource.
We are faithful to our commitments, they learn to stick with the tough things.
We discipline ourselves in big and small ways, they learn how to make the choice to eat cookies after dinner. We live our faith, they look to the One who gives them life.
The Proverb offers this wisdom: "Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost." (Proverbs 22:6, The Message) Yes, it’s a heavy responsibility and one no parent can carry alone. It should send us often into the Presence of God where we ask for His wisdom, where we pray for forgiveness, where we invite the Holy Spirit to shape us into the likeness of Christ Jesus.
This is not a call to piety or excessive religiosity around children. Holding back profanity just because children are present, living like the Devil all week and then insisting on going to church every Sunday, are terrible choices. To claim to love people wholeheartedly when in public and then denigrating those of a different race or religion at the dinner table is wrong. Those gaps teach children to be hypocrites, to think that God can be bought with a few trinkets and a couple of hours of feigned worship! God is Lord of Monday as surely as He is of Sunday. "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." (Deuteronomy 6:6-8, NIV) Is the Lord part of every conversation? No, I don’t mean in a forced way, a strain to mention “Jesus” in every paragraph! Is He present?
We choose to love, they learn to love.
We choose to forgive, they learn to forgive.
We choose to seek God first, they learn He is their primary resource.
We are faithful to our commitments, they learn to stick with the tough things.
We discipline ourselves in big and small ways, they learn how to make the choice to eat cookies after dinner. We live our faith, they look to the One who gives them life.
The Proverb offers this wisdom: "Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost." (Proverbs 22:6, The Message) Yes, it’s a heavy responsibility and one no parent can carry alone. It should send us often into the Presence of God where we ask for His wisdom, where we pray for forgiveness, where we invite the Holy Spirit to shape us into the likeness of Christ Jesus.
Landon, you have made Poppa think! I pray I am a Christian
from whom you will see the beauty of Jesus and, in your time, you will choose
to love and serve Him.
_____________________
I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.
I can go anywhere that He wants me to go
I can be anything He wants me to be
I can climb the high mountains
I can cross the wide sea
I'm a great big promise you see!
I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I'm a promise to be anything God wants me to be
Anything God wants me to be!
I Am A Promise, Bill and Gloria Gaither
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