Jump Start # 1759

Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.”

  Our passage today taken from the minor prophets is applied to Jesus in the early pages of Matthew when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with Jesus. They remained in Egypt until God called for them to return. But here in Hosea, as it is first used, these words apply to Israel. God loved, cared and led Israel, out of Egypt. God sent prophets to teach and guide Israel. It is in this way that God acted as a parent to Israel. Israel was God’s child.

It is that thought that I want us to explore today. God as a parent. Parents struggle today. It’s not easy being a parent. Our kids face so many things that many of us never had to. Social media is a huge part of their lives and can be a destructive influence if they are not guided and are not given any limitations. I love the illustration of flying a kite. It’s the very thing that parents face. If the kite sting is too loose, the kite will fall. If it is held too tight, the string snaps and the kite is lost. It’s finding that spiritual balance that is so hard.

I am about to launch a series of lessons about parenting. I came across this idea of God as a parent. The perfect parent. None of us had perfect parents. We may have had great dads or amazing moms, but they weren’t perfect. We, as parents, failed. There are many things I wish I could do over but I can’t. God was perfect. God is perfect. God is sinless, holy and righteous. God is generous. God blesses. God forgives. One would think that if there was ever a perfect family, it would be God’s. Yet, Biblically, that’s not the case.

Consider Adam and Eve. They didn’t have to deal with neighbors, in-laws, siblings, co-workers, and they lived in Paradise, Eden. There was no traffic to complain about. The weather was perfect. No bugs. No weeds. There was nothing to be unhappy about. Perfect. The perfect husband. The perfect wife. Literally. No stress. No worries. No death. No bad news. We cannot relate to their perfect world. Yet, Satan convinced Eve that she was missing out. Dissatisfied, she and Adam disobeyed God.

Consider Israel. Taken out of Egypt as slaves and led directly by God to a land that He gave them. Blessed. Cared for. Loved. Yet the history of Israel is departure after departure. They continually turned to idols and listened to false prophets. They turned their backs on God. Here in Hosea, God is nearly at the end of His patience with this rebellious people.

Consider the prodigal son. In that parable, the father is God. The prodigal are the people of God who have everything at home, yet they are not happy. Give me, is his attitude. Out the door he goes, hoping to never look back again. What a wasteful, rebellious life he lives, ending up in a pig pen, wanting to eat what the hogs were eating. How disgusting that would be to a Jewish family. How disgusting we became to God because of our rebellion and sinful choices.

We could look at these three situations and conclude that God is great at making and running the universe, but He doesn’t know much about being a parent. And, what a false conclusion that would be. God knows what He is doing. It’s the willful and sinful choices of His children that led to their disobedience. God could not have done more. God could not have been a better parent. The faithless hearts of these people are what led them to make these wrong choices. I don’t know anyone who would rightfully declare that God messed up as a parent. We can’t go there.

If the perfect parent had rebellious children, what about us? Many godly parents have done all that they could to raise children to know, love and follow the Lord. They took their children to Bible classes and worship and lived godly examples before their eyes. They were kind, generous, forgiving and patient. Yet, for many of these parents, a silent guilt that simply will not go away, is why have their children chosen to walk away from the Lord? What could they have done more? Added to this grief, is the wagging tongues and the whispers that come from others. Many of these godly dads have had their reputations hurt because of the choices of their grown children. Many would make amazing leaders in the kingdom, but they refuse to be considered because of the choices of their children. As these aged godly saints pass away, I have been called to preach their funerals. Too many of them. Too many of the same story. Tons of kids, grandkids show up. Never seen any of them before. Most live right in the area. They don’t share the same faith nor hope as their departed dad and granddad did. They have not darkened the church doors in decades. Most are busy, happy and have no time for the faith of their parents. One by one, as these old saints pass, one wonders what will happen to these grown kids. No God in their lives. No direction or influence from Heaven. When it becomes their time to leave this place, who will be called to preach their funeral?

We see some lessons from God toward rebellious children. God continued to love them. God continued to be patient with them. God continued to instruct them. But God also allowed them to go. You don’t read about the Father in the prodigal story, chasing after his son, begging him to stay home. He let him go. You also do not read about the father sending money to the pig pen. God allowed Israel to bow down to idols. He allowed them to dance with the wolves and drink the poison of false doctrine. But a time came and God punished them. Adam was removed from the garden. Israel was constantly harassed by foreign armies and eventually led into captivity. All of this was to get them to see where they were.

Parent today need to pray for their grown children who do not walk with the Lord. Continue to be an example before them. Don’t side with their complaints. Don’t bend the rules to coax them back. Don’t enable  bad behavior. When the prodigal returned, the father didn’t drop the rules. The very rules that he hated and wanted to run away from, were still in place. What changed was the heart of the prodigal.

Keep walking with the Lord. Keep dropping hints. Keep talking about the good things about the Gospel. Continue to invite. Continue to ask them to study with you. Continue to show the goodness of the Lord.

The perfect Parent had troublesome kids. If you have made mistakes, don’t cover them up. Apologize. Learn. Do better. Be transparent. Be honest. But don’t beat yourself up and feel like you are a failure because your grown children have chosen to turn their backs on the Lord. We may send our preachers all over the world to save the lost, but we still need them in our homes to save our own families.

God give us Christian homes, is more than a hymn, it’s a plea and a prayer. God doesn’t just “give us” these homes. They come about from hearts that are willing to bow before the Almighty. Some of the best people I know, have kids who are not walking with the Lord. Instead of pointing fingers, we need to extend arms of comfort. Pray with them and for them.

These are tough times and it’s only through Jesus that we find hope, peace and a future.

Roger