3 Jn 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth."
I am not certain, but I think it might have been Confucius who supposedly once said "three things a man needs to be happy: a job to do, a someone to love and a tomorrow". I'd always thought of those as three separate things - even when I was married. It wasn't until I had children that I realized they could all be pointing in the same direction.
My eldest child (my favorite daughter, as I have always liked to remind her - to which her unfailing response is an exasperated "your only daughter") turned 18 yesterday. She is now an adult and, having gone off to college four months ago, is now not only no longer under my physical care, but legally emancipated as well. No matter - my parents' lessons continue to become clear, and in this instance I now understand why I will always be their son - because I know she will always be my daughter.
When she was born, it became apparent I had a job to do - to raise her, and raise her well; and I had someone to love - that was obvious. What was not as clear was what she would mean in the context of my tomorrow. It was explained to me that, when Confucius, or whoever may have written that little scribe, spoke of a "tomorrow", he (or she) was referring to hope, in a tomorrow better than today, in a future of fulfillment following a present of struggle and aspiration.
The verse from today's NT reading pretty much summarizes the hope I have for my children, the job I have to do for the someone I love in order to achieve the hope I aspire to for my tomorrow. After all, what greater joy could there be than for our children to be walking in the truth?
That isn't very easy these days - the world teaches so much that simply isn't true, certainly not to those who seek the Lord. How frightening the prospect they turn into Ephraim, as described in the OT reading...deceived and, having been deceived, having strayed and rebelled, having turned to other gods who can neither provide nor save, has won for itself God's rejection and condemnation.
3 Jn 1:11 "Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God."
How then to teach our children so they walk in truth? V 11 uses the word "imitate", and it is true - our children learn by our example. If they see us give God, and relationship with Him, the importance it deserves, putting it first and foremost in our minds and hearts, then that example is more likely to lead to their own relationship with Him, than if we treat God as an afterthought, or as just one separate but equal part of our our lives. They have to see God - in us or, if not in us, hopefully in someone else. The lack of an example makes them vulnerable to the world's deception, and keeps both us and them from the joy that Confucius so wisely described.
Father, thank you for the privilege of the opportunity to guide someone to the truth, be it our child, or someone else you may have sent into our lives. May we always be cognizant of the stakes involved - there are no higher - and may we always be an example for them to follow, constantly seeking to know You and Your Truth better. In Jesus's name we pray.
Sent from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment