ED ROSS
"Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed
anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He
has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the
boundaries of their dwellings … for in Him we live and move and
have our being…" Acts 17:25-28
"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and
such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is
your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then
vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall
live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All
such boasting is evil." James 4:13-16
The world, she is a changin’. It is becoming more prevalent that I hear
parents of young children express deep concern about the world in which
their children shall live. Young couples struggle with the ‘morality’ of
bringing children into a world such as this. Those of us who have grown up
in the western world with its liberties and abundance find it painful and
even ‘unfair’ that our children should not enjoy at least the same measure of
‘blessing’. As a grandfather of a four-year-old I certainly understand those
sentiments. And in a certain sense, such feelings are indicative of loving
concern. But I fear they may also belie our own worldly mindset.
God himself has appointed the time and place of each life according to the
good pleasure of his own will. For Christians, everything about our ‘time and
place’ is ipso facto the venue of our divine calling. We were ordained before
time by a loving Father to exist for his glory and purpose at the exact point
at which we find ourselves in history. This, of course, applies no less to our
beloved children. Their days are ordained by God.
As parents, our part is to do all we can by God’s grace to bring them up in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph.6:4), not to prepare them for
worldly success and the accumulation of wealth. We must repent, if
necessary, of our own carnal aspirations for our children, and set upon doing
what we can to bring to them the true riches of Christ and his kingdom as a
priority of life (Mat.6:33). We must teach them of a loving Father who will
prepare his children in every aspect for the life he has ordained. A Father
who, through Christ, indwells by his Spirit, equips for his purposes, and impels
by his love to bear his image through each day as it unfurls his perfect will
before them.
Our primary question for our children must not be “what kind of world will
they face?” but, “Am I doing my part to prepare them for whatever world
the Father has determined for them?” It must begin by each of us asking our
self, “For what am I living?” Do I see each day as a mission from my Father
who calls me to bear his image victoriously through it?
Sovereign Father,
How quickly in ‘good’ times do the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this
world choke out our fruitfulness (Mrk.4:19) and mar your image in us! How
shameful that we tend to project upon our children our own worldly mindset,
robbing them of true joy and the lasting riches found only in Christ as we
serve our King and his kingdom for your glory! Grant to us repentance and
a commitment, for ourselves and for our children, to seek first your kingdom
and righteousness. Then those things, great or small, which you choose to
freely give, we may freely enjoy.
Abiding in Your Appointed Time,
Amen
Tuesday's Touch …#20: Our Children's Hope
...from Pastor Ed
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Christ, please respond to: Tuesdays_Touch [at] SpringwoodChapel.com or
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© 2009 E.J.Ross III, Springwood Publications.
