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My friend Isaac always described the responsibility of Christian parents as being to disciple their children. This sounded strange when I heard it, but of course it is true. It says a lot that that I did not intuitively associate the idea of discipling with parental responsibility. I have thought of and described that responsibility mostly with words like teaching, instructing, disciplining, raising. It is not that teaching, instructing, disciplining and raising are not a part of the process of discipling our children, it is that they are only part of the process. My assumption was that if I could just get my children to do right everything else would fall into place. It was the same assumption that I applied to my responsibility as a Christian to “make disciples”. Tim Keller contrasts religion and gospel. Religion says “I obey therefore God accepts me”. Gospel says “I am accepted by God therefore I obey”. In thinking about those statements, it becomes clear that what I was about as a parent was more religion than gospel. My objective was to teach a system, and, in that, I mostly ignored the importance and prominence of relationships. One might argue that that was not all bad. Didn’t they learn to be responsible, self-sufficient, independent, good people? Of course. Religion is not all bad for the same reasons. But there is a vast difference in outcomes between religion and gospel. Jesus said the religion practiced by the Pharisees made their convert twice as fit for hell as themselves. The practice of religion rendered them unable to hear the gospel. An implication I see is that children parented in religion i.e. “I obey therefore God accepts me.” are at risk for developing hearts which are unprepared to receive the gospel. Of course there are other influences in children’s lives that may very well cultivate “good soil hearts”. I am of the opinion that if I had to choose between a family who parents with “religion” and a family that has no religion but parents with love and acceptance, I would take the latter over the former. I believe children raised in a community of love and acceptance will more likely have hearts that are fertile ground and are capable of hearing the gospel. So what are parents like myself to do when they realize their efforts to raise their children, although done with an honest heart and the best of intentions, were not Godly? The answer for us is the same as the answer for parents who are beginning their families. The most important thing we can do is demonstrate the acceptance and love that God gives us in our lives and particularly in our relationships with our children. In relationships like those, hearts will be softened, ears will hear and eyes will see and the gospel will transform lives. Published Feb 2017 Shadowland Community Church weekly email |
We leave this am on our migration toward Florida. Our first stop will be Nashville. Visits with family and friends will be good. After that we are going to my Aunt Imogene’s in Rogersville, Alabama. Following a brief stay, we will meet our friends Lovell and Frances from Louisville and we will drive together to Destin, Florida where we will stay for a week with them. The main course comes when we go to Cape Haze for the month of February.
My ambition for the time in Florida is to relax, mentally and spiritually. For me, that seems like an oxymoron. I’ll have to be intentional if I am going to be successful. It is also my intent to initiate a training regiment to get ready for the Triple Crown of Racing in Louisville when we return.
There are a number of people that I hope to visit with while we are in Florida. A little fishing will be good too. Perhaps I’ll even blog a bit??
This has been a harsh winter. The cold has disrupted my daily rhythm. Naturally I miss the front porch and the opportunities to visit with my neighbors. The workshop is not heated so that has limited my activities there. I have found it hard to motivate myself to exercise. I’ve been outside only once it the last five or six weeks. Although, not as regular as it needs to be, I have been working out on the treadmill. The lack of activity also increases my appetite.
I am trying to decide whether I am going to participate in the Louisville Triple Crown Races when we return from Florida. I will need to do some serious training while in Florida. The races include a 5K, a 10K and a 10 miler. Since finishing is my objective rather than speed, I’m pretty confident about the first two but the 10 miler is real challenge. I ran it year before last and it was tougher for me than the half-marathon I ran the year before. I think it would be good for me. I need something to focus my efforts.
Although the pace of my reading has slowed recently, I picked up several books at the library and have a significant wish list on Amazon. I expect to get a lot of reading done in Florida. The most influential reading I have done recently is Shaped By the Word and Eat this Book. I am still reading Eat this Book but my understanding and practice of formational reading has already been positively impacted. Peterson’s Eat this Book has generated a number of topics I plan to pursue this year.
I have had a lot of thoughts that I am pondering but, for some reason, I have been unable to blog about them. Every time I start to write I just seem to lose interest. I don’t know what that is all about.
In any case, I am looking forward to the warmth of Florida and visiting with some friends and a little fishing. Spring is coming.