All in Children
We are inclined to worship the Lord and remind ourselves that He is with us always. It is our natural inclination to do this because we are weak, our lives so fleeting, and we need Him continuously, but how often do we pause and think to ourselves... “I will never abandon my God!”? Do we say this silently in our own minds, or exclaim it LOUDLY to God, the world, and to our children?
Do you make intercession for your family? Do you pray for your wife, your children, your parents, and others in your house? Sometimes we think that we are only responsible for our own salvation, and only have the power to save ourselves, but in fact we have the ability, and even the obligation, to lift up our family before God.
We get married, and if we are so blessed, then we have children. From the moment we decide to bring each of these new lives into the world we begin to make plans for them; we want the best for them. It is the same with God, and He has a plan for each of our lives; a plan made long before we were born... or even conceived. These plans, both ours and God’s, can only be accomplished if the child gives all their effort as they strive to know and do their parent’s will. Are you a fully engaged participant in God’s plan for you?
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.
Are you a wanderer in Christ? Did you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, go down in the waters and spirit of baptism and then walk off into a spiritual desert? Well it is time to come back from where you have been and rejoin the house, and the kingdom, of God. Like our savior, we are not meant to remain alone in the desert... are your 40 days up?
We all love our children; Mary loved Jesus, but raising a child means more than just love... it is a challenge. Do your children bring you more than love and joy? Sometimes our children are foolish, and can cause us pain, suffering, or even disappointment during their lifetimes. If you are a new parent, prepare yourself, if you have older children you know this to be true, so was Mary, the mother of Jesus, different, and immune from pain?
When we look at our children, what do we see, and how do we see it? We look on them with our eyes, and see their physical characteristics, we observe their actions, and come to know by studying them with our minds, their character. We go further, and see their heart through the eyes of our own, and come to know their love as it mixes with ours and grows, but there is one other way we should look at our children... one that many neglect, we should see them spiritually.