06/23/2018
Do you bless your family? Are you more than a sire, or a dame who brought forth children from the womb? There is so much to raising a family, and all of our children are as different as Jacob’s; each needing a special blessing. Not all of them are presently good, but each one needs to know the Lord, and that necessitates our prayers, our attention, and our blessing as we wait upon God to call and save them. This is our calling, the will of a God for us, but in the end we can’t save them ourselves.
“I wait for your salvation, O Lord.”
Genesis 49:18 ESV
These are the words of Jacob, as he was preparing to die, and as he gave a blessing to each of his sons. When we read Genesis 49 we find Jacob’s blessings were as different as the sons he blessed. As we read of them we find the mighty, the vicious, the good, the warriors, and the judges, but one thing is for certain... they were all their Jacob’s sons and like him they would find that they too would wait upon God for their salvation.
We can lead our children so far, but there comes a point where they must take what we have taught them and go forth. We hope and pray that when they reach that point in their lives they take the knowledge of our faith which we have given them, and continue to seek out their own salvation for the rest of their lives. This is a lesson, and a task that they alone must do, and that we can’t accomplish in their stead. It is our greatest hope for them, our greatest joy when it is witnessed, and our greatest fear when they struggle in faith, but this is where our parenthood is passed to our Heavenly Father, and His Holy Spirit leads them on.
So what do we teach them while they are in our house? What lessons do they hear, and what are those things they learn by watching us? How do we instruct them regarding life among ungodly men and women, about dealing with the sinful, and before the knives of those who are destroyers of lives? We can clothe them, feed them, protect them, teach them to walk, and instruct them in faith, but there will come a time when they must continue to search out their own lasting salvation, and we must go.
I listen as parents worry incessantly about their children. We all do this don’t we? If we don’t, then do we really love them? But in the end we must trust in the Lord, and place them into the hands of God. Even Jacob found that there comes a time when all that is left for us to do is to pass on our blessing on to each of them, and to step from between our children and God.
“When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.”
Genesis 49:33 ESV
Years ago I had a near-death drowning experience, and one of the most profound memories I have of that occurrence was the moment I let go of this world and surrendered to God. What I remember the most was a overriding fear, concern, and worry for my family, but what allowed me to let go my grip, and find Peace, was God’s reassurance that they were in His hands... they were His... as they always had been. Once I understood this the joy was overwhelming.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13 ESV
Let me ask you this... who is your Father, and who is your God? As a young person I would have pointed to my earthly father and said “there is my father” and pointed up and said “there is my God.” The division of responsibility was distinct in my mind. However, as an older man I realize that after being a father on earth I am just a surrogate, a shadow of the true Father who is in heaven. My earthly father is still dear to me, and I love him, and my children my beloved, but I realize that my true Father, and God, are one and the same... and they will be forever.
Like Jacob we will one day be gathered to our people, and on that day we will be reunited with our earthly parents, and stand with them in praise of God our Father... brothers and sisters saved by the grace of God.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1:12-13 ESV
So to the children we give the knowledge of our faith, and to God we say “Here are those you have given me. Help me as I raise them.” Then when the time has come, we step aside, and deliver them into the hands of God the Father forever. Some will have already professed their belief, and some will come to know Him afterwards, but all will struggle as we have, and like Jacob did, as they search, and wait on God for their salvation...
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for entrusting this family to my care. Lord, I thank you for those who come to know you in my presence, and for those who I hand to you as yet unsaved. I love them as you have given me the nature to do Father, and I command and bless them even though I am unable to see their heart yielding to you. I trust in you as you take them from my hands, for they were always yours, and I can never love them as you do. Thank you for sharing these your children with me, and for giving me peace in knowing that you have a plan for each of them. Help them Father as they seek out their salvation with fear and trembling, and lead them in paths of righteousness. Bring home your children, and never let one of them lose sight of you. Great are you, our Father, and greatly to be praised. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you the Father of many children, the Father of nations, the Father of all mankind. Praised be your name, and Holy your household throughout eternity.
Rich Forbes