You probably won't be able to guess what jumped out at me during today's passage.
Parenting.
Yup, probably not what you were expecting from today's passage. But hang in there and I'll explain.
One passage, and one verse in particular caught my eye...
"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend myy people:"Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the Lord. "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:1-4
At first glance that doesn't appear to have anything to do with parenting. But hang in there....
My Life Application Bible has this to say about those verses (emphasis mine)....
Those responsible to lead Israel in God's path were the very ones responsible for Israel's present plight, and so God had decreed harsh judgment against them. Leaders are held responsible for those entrusted to their care. Whom has God placed in your care? Remember that you are accountable to God for those you influence and lead.
Now you see how I took that leap, right? As parents, God has placed our children in our care and we absolutely will be accountable for how we influence and lead them. We obviously cannot make our children have a deep and abiding relationship with God. They will be held accountable for their choice. But we will be held accountable for how we lead them to that relationship.
The other verse is....
"Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declared the Lord. Jeremiah 23:28
Again, from my Life Application Bible (emphasis mine)....
True prophets and false prophets are as different as straw and grain. Straw is useless for food and cannot compare to nourishing grain. To share the gospel is a great responsibility because the way we present it and live it will encourage people either to accept it or reject it. Whether we speak from a pulpit, teach in a class, or share with friends, we are entrusted with accurately communicating and living out God's Word. As you share God's Word with friends and neighbors, they will look for its effectiveness in your life. Unless it has changed you, why should they let it change them? If you preach it, make sure you live it!
Nobody has a more front row seat than our children when it comes to the way we live our lives. They know if we are walking the talk, if we are living what we preach, and frankly, if we are preaching at all!
I recently read Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting by William P Farley and am in the middle of reading Lous Priolo's Teach Them Diligently: How to Use the Scripture in Child Training and highly recommend both! They have definitely convicted me of several shortfalls in my parenting, two of which, fairly obviously (from the titles) are in the areas of imprinting the scriptures on their hearts (which obviously requires imprinting them on my own first!) and passing on a heritage of passion for God's Word. I am planning to review both books a bit more thoroughly on my regular blog, but for now, let me just say that they have made me look at parenting in a new light, from a new angle, in a new way and it has highly motivated and challenged me to be a better parent, more grounded in the gospel. (If you can only afford to get one, get the first one).
The bottom line is that we are accountable for sharing the gospel and living out the gospel to our children. It is not the job of our churches, our Sunday Schools, our Youth groups, our private schools, our pastors, our girls/boys clubs. It is our job. And we need to make it a priority.
Tomorrow's passage: Jeremiah 23:33-24:10, 29:1-31:14
2 comments:
This is something that's been impressed on my heart a lot over the last few months and I've really tried to make a conscientious effort to "impress them on [my] children. Talk about them when [we] sit at home and when [we] walk along the road, when [we] lie down and when [we] get up." Sometimes it feels a little forced and unnatural, but more and more, it seems to just be where the conversation ends up in the course of whatever we're discussing. And if God is central to our lives, I guess it makes sense that He's involved in every aspect, every decision, every punishment, every reward, at all times.
I actually thought of parenting also when reading those verses. Definitely teaching my children about God is something I need to be more diligent about myself, not just taking them to church, etc. My oldest lately has shown great interest in reading from a children's Bible at bedtime, so I am going to make an effort to read that every night and start learning verses together.
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