What I am called to do is Why I have breath

It is my firm belief that each and every one of us has a calling and a purpose.  Your purpose may simply be to exude the Joy of Christ to the world around you or perhaps God has something else that He desires you to fulfill.  Whatever my purpose or your purpose we are called by God the creator of all things to fulfill that role. 

 

It is also my belief that if you have breath in your body God still has something for you to do.  God gives us each and every day that we have; the ultimate question we have to answer is, "Are we striving to fulfill God’s purpose for our life?"  Some people might say that they don’t know what that purpose is, but I believe that if you are following God’s will (which we discover and learn more about every time we open the Bible or come before Him in prayer or listen to Him in silence) then He will use you for His purpose.  Sometimes we may have a firm grasp on that purpose and sometimes we may not, but when we ‘man up’ and take God and His Word (the Bible) seriously He will use us in ways that we can’t imagine or understand.  In fact the full affect of our lives on this world may not be revealed to us until God shows us on the other side of this life. 

One of the prayers I often pray is that my son, Joshua, will grow to be a man of God. I pray that he will seek God’s will at all times and fully rest upon the truth that God is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do.  When we trust God that way and live lives that prove our faith, then we can all have confidence because the death & resurrection of Jesus promises that one day God will say to Joshua, you, and me: “Well done good and faithful servant, you are my child whom I love and I welcome you into my eternal presence.”  

Keep out of Reach of Children

“Keep out of Reach of Children”… Now that my son, Joshua, is a closing in on 2.5 years old I am noticing the above quoted statement, or rather, this warning everywhere.  And for good reason, he is getting into everything and much of what he is getting into he absolutely shouldn’t have either because it is dangerous or because he doesn’t know how to properly use it.  I am amazed at the things that could be potentially harmful to my son that I never would have thought of as harmful before. 

But there are many things that are absolutely good for my son to be able experience despite his potential ignorance of how to properly use them or understand them.  Love, discipline, mercy, grace, correction, and compassion are just a few of the things that require no previous understanding or experience to have a positive impact on his life. 

This subject reminds me of a time in Jesus’ ministry when little children were being hindered from being front and center to the love and teaching of the Son of God.  In Matthew 19:13-14 we see Jesus’ closest followers rebuking people for bringing their children to see and touch Jesus.  Jesus says to his followers in verse 14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 

It is an unfortunate thing, but our society tends to ignore and discount children and their abilities to make an impact in their environments; unfortunately, the American church as a whole has often followed this thinking.  In my opinion, that is one of the reasons why 80-85% of high school graduates walk away from the church of their parents and never return.  I don’t say this to scold the church, but I do say this to remind the church that we must not forget to put our children front and center before the Love of Christ.  The church must continue to love children from K-College in such a way that they can’t help but be overwhelmed by the Love of Christ.  When they feel welcomed, loved, valued, lifted up, inspired, connected, and involved in the church they can’t help but stay plugged in to that kind of environment.  

Also, as parents we absolutely CANNOT simply rely on the church to do the spiritual teaching and training of our children.  WE MUST be the primary vessels of faith transformation for our children.  I know as a parent I struggle with this, just as I struggle with keeping myself in God's word daily.  But we must make it a point of life to teach and train our children in the homes to think, speak, act, and live as Jesus did; this is our #1 role as parents. 

 

“Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it”                                                                                                               Proverbs 22:6