Jump Start # 3155

Psalms 127:3 “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

The signs of fall are all around us. The days are getting cooler. The night is getting longer. And, in the mornings, yellow school buses pass our homes. The stores are lined with “back to school” supplies. College kids have gone off to the universities and another school year has begun.

Three things are happening right before the eyes of parents. You may not want to admit these, but it’s true.

First, you child is changing. That cute little chubby baby has stretched out. He may now be taller than his parents. Every year, back to school means new clothes and new shoes because your child has outgrown last year’s. But it’s more than just the outside that is changing. They are changing on the inside.

• They are thinking for themselves, forming their own opinions and shaping their own ideas. When a child is small he naturally likes the things the parents do. Same sports. Same teams. Same music. But as they grow, they start finding their own tastes and their own likes.

• The scope of influence in your child’s life is increasing rapidly. When your child is small, he lives a pretty sheltered life. You decide what shows he’ll watch and who his friends will be. But as he grows, that influence grows. Teachers. Fellow students. Social media. Professors. Friends. Parents realize that the little sheltered bubble is no longer around their child anymore. They will hear about things that we never talked about at home. They’ll hear words that were never said at home.

The faith and conviction of your child will determine whether or not your child will be swayed by these influences.

Second, as a parent you begin to lose your status and importance in your child’s life. That’s hard on parents. We’ve been everything to our children. We’ve been their security, their friend and their hero. But, now they are growing up. There will be times when they’d rather be with friends than you. And, as time passes, your child will meet someone and fall in love and your level of importance will drop even more. Then the day comes when you child moves out on their own. Your role now shifts to advisor and often your advise isn’t asked. Sometimes they don’t want to hear your advice. There was a time when you picked out their outfits, knew where they were every minute and even told them when to go to bed. But as they have matured and moved out on their own, you no longer have that impact. Days may pass and you don’t hear from them.

Some parents do ok with this. Others have a hard time. Some interfere too much in the lives of their adult children. This often causes troubles with son–in-laws and daughter-in-laws. Leaving father and mother and clinging to your wife is not about location but the beginning of a new family. They may do things that you don’t. They may do things that you do not like. As long as it is not sinful, parents need to step back and allow their children to spread their wings. Their choices and their decisions may be much different than the way you raised them. That’s hard on us parents.

Third, the Lord remains the same. When Joshua took over after the death of Moses, the nation didn’t throw up their arms  and declare that everything is now different. God was still there. The God of Moses was the God of Joshua. God will be there.

Remember, that God has plans for your child and can use your child for good. God will be there when you cannot. God will be there when you are no longer on this side of life. These principles will help your child. These principles ought to guide your child.

My suggestion would be to make the most of your time while you still are the greatest influence in their lives. Turn the TV off and spend time playing, talking, sharing and teaching. Tell them about your family history. Tell them your story of how you came to Christ. The day is coming when they will be too busy to listen. Get those lessons in them early.

Teach your child to think for himself. That is lacking in these days. They will hear things and to be as the Bereans, to search the Scriptures daily to see if those things are true is most remarkable gift you can give them. There are so many opinions, ideas and philosophies floating around these days. Don’t follow fads. Don’t just follow the crowd. Think and think things out.

Always be there for your child. Let your child know that you will always love him. I had a dream the other night. The kids were fussing and I had to settle a dispute. I woke up and realized that there are no kids in my house any longer. I wished I could turn the clock back and have them back, but that can’t happen.

Back to school is a powerful reminder of what a great opportunity, wonderful gift and challenging task that God has put in our hands. Our children. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full.

Roger

Jump Start # 2835

Psalms 127:3 “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

As I write this, my youngest son and his wonderful wife are in the hospital. Their new baby will be born this morning. There have been numerous prayers ascending to Heaven this morning for their health, safety and as well as for their baby son. This makes me a grandfather, again. This will be our eleventh grandchild—that’s right, 11. Christmas sure gets expensive for us, but what a joy each of them are.

I saw an interesting chart the other day. It starts with “You.” You have 2 parents and 4 grandparents. You have 8 great grandparents, 16 great, great grandparents and 32 great, great, great grandparents. In just eight generations, there are more than 250 people in your family tree. That’s not counting siblings, uncles, or cousins, just direct descendants from you. In twenty generations, there are one million people in your family tree.

Genesis 5 covers 11 generations. Luke 3 covers 75 generations. Solomon says early in Ecclesiastes, “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” And, how true God’s word through Solomon is. The year started for us with the passing of my 95 year old father. Now, we have the birth of a new grandson. A generation goes and a generation comes.

Some thoughts:

First, we all come into the world the same way. Our home life may be very different. Our advantages or disadvantages may be far apart. But we all come into this world with a clean soul. Our minds do not even know our own name. We cannot speak any language. All of us have to learn. All of us have to be taught. For those who are blessed to have a mom and dad who walk with the Lord, they will learn about God, righteousness, worship and making wise choices. They will have such an advantage. They will be loved, accepted and cared for. Knowing the Lord will help them make the right choices in life and keep them close to God.

Second, as we think about family trees, and this is even true of Jesus’ family tree, there are some wonderful examples and some real scoundrels. Every family has them. Trace your genealogy back and you’ll find godly people and horse thieves. Way back in my family tree was a preacher who conducted the funeral of restoration preacher J.W. McGarvey. We also have someone in the family tree who ran with the Dillinger gang. Every family has those that they are proud of and those that brought shame. We can only be responsible for ourselves. Even though someone may been in our family tree does not mean that they are doing what is right. Some would rather side with family than the Lord.

Third, our verse today reminds us that children are God’s gift. There are days when a parent may feel like returning that gift, but what a blessing children are. Children bring curiosity and joy and smiles. They can lift spirits. They demand a lot of time and a lot of energy, but what a delight they are. And, as God has arranged things, parents take care of that little child and in time that grown child takes care of the aging parents. Our world seems to be getting darker all the time. Things we thought would never be questioned, now are. Righteous people wonder how far things will sink into secularism and selfishness. But the bright spot is found in the little eyes of the children of the righteous. Not all is lost. Not all is dark. Not all is doom. There is hope for yet another generation to know the ways of the Lord. There is hope that yet another generation will be serving the King of kings and engaged in the Lord’s work. To God, we are thankful. To God, we are blessed. To God, we honor and serve Him.

Fourth, children are a blessing to a congregation. Yes, sometimes they can loud. Yes, sometimes they run and they need to be slowed down a bit. But have you ever been to a congregation where there are no kids? No children’s Bible classes? One looks around and wonders what the future of that congregation will be. God’s design is for the leaders to be family men. Deacons have children. Shepherds have children. As they have influenced and guided their homes, they now lead and serve the people of God. I love all the little ones we have in our congregation. I know that I must seem the age of Moses to them, but their bright eyes, quick smiles and cheerful ways are enough to melt the gloomiest of hearts. VBS week is busy, but what a great time it is. Sometimes our moms leave services like they have been on a twenty mile hike. Instead of rolling your eyes, offer to help them. Offer to carry a bag for them and thank them for coming and bringing their children.

Welcome, little baby Lincoln, to our family and to the world. We pray that you’ll grow tall and strong and be wonderful among God’s people, just as your mom and dad are. I only wish that the world you were coming into was better than what it is. With the help of the Lord, you’ll do fine. With the help of the Lord, you’ll shine. And, with the help of the Lord, you’ll be helping others someday.

We are blessed.

Roger