A strategy for imparting faith to your child
Just back from Chiapas, Mexico. In a future blog I’ve got to somehow synthesize what I saw – healings, demons being cast out, miracles, and the leaders of a generation being set ablaze with the fire of the Spirit and a passion for missions.
It bugs me that we’re so cynical back in the States. It’s a real problem amongst those of us who are Jesus-followers. We’re missing out on some of the best stuff back here because of it.
Honestly, as a parent, I can’t imagine why you’d want to give your children that kind of legacy. If you’re going to be a Jesus-follower, why not just dial in all the way like he asked us to do? I think that’s the first step to combatting the pool of cynicism in which our kids swim.
I’ll walk into the office tomorrow and if I log onto the network to look at our applications for mission trips (from the top tier of students around the country), a flood of dysfunction will pour onto my screen, the product of a nuclear family in meltdown, and an institutional church that mirrors all the trends in society.
This is a very live issue for Karen and I as we watch our five children (ages 17-23) navigate their way out of the safe harbor of our home and into the harsh realities of a world that will chew the faithless alive. We continually ask ourselves, “Is our strategy for imparting our faith in Christ adequate for the challenges they face?”
We won’t really know until they’ve gone a few years on their own, but we love what the World Race is doing for Talia. She is getting a world view like no other as she sees her native culture from the perspective of others. Bad habits she has will be reflected back to her in a way that she can deal with them as she lives in close proximity with her team of six for a year. And by continually ministering to the poor, she is already learning brokenness and the complexities of faith.
As a parent, I was amazed and delighted. What a blessing that the ministry in which I work can so positively impact my own kids.
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What an awesome exchange!…Giving up the American dream for God’s Dream. One lasts a lifetime and doesn’t truly satisfy and the other lasts an eternity that will make a difference for every tribe, tongue, and nation!
I am perplexed by the fact that many Christian homes still promote the American dream. I guess they don’t have eternal perspective or ??? Perhaps they do but are still weighed down by societies’ pressures. They understand the great commission but emphasize something that will burn up leaving no ashes…1 Cor.3; 10-14. Then I think of the youth I met along the way while translating…the ones going on mission trips when they come from non-Christian homes with broken lives. I met a girl who told me she was going to Africa with the Ambassador program and I wasn’t surprised when she said she was leaving it all for the sake of the Call (from a Catholic, broken home). It is time for Christian parents to release their children to the great commission. Thanks Seth for your honesty…you guys are a true testimony and missionaries (that have struggles like everyone else) but choose to trust God and continue the walk (not marathon) of faith.
What a challenge you’ve left with here in this posting!
It is indeed scary sometimes for grandparents when we sit back and wonder just what it is we have left for our children and grandchildren spiritually, to hang on to and to grow with. When we see the way some of them are going in our “things” orientated country, we can’t help but ask, “Did we really do our best to prepare them?” Satan says: “Love things…use people.” God says: “Love people…use things.” What a contrast and we must ask, which quote applies to us?
Linnea and I sat and had coffee with Talia on Sat. great conversation. thanks for showing that my ideas are not crazy, I hope my children are also given something more to live for than their own appetites.