God Should be Central in all of Life

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

I couldn't help but think of the very obvious and intended application for parents in these verses. One of the main implications that struck me was the fact that Biblical Christianity and Biblical parenting are not compartmentalized. You should not have the Bible as your guide and the topic of discussion only in Sunday school and at church. Here the Bible is to be the topic "when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." We should be teaching our children, not only at set times for catechism and family devotions but also in the milieu of life. They should know that the word of God and the God of the word are relevant and supreme in all realms of life, not just at church on Sunday.

A Poem for Your Birthday

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is the question people regularly ask children. We, as parents, have the advantage of life experience to answer this question. Many parents would answer the question differently if they could answer if for their children. As Christian parents, we should answer differently than parents that are not Christians. What the world wants for their children and what Christians want for their children should be noticeably different. The world may want things like wealth, fame, power, reputation, etc. A biblical vision for what we want for our children should look quite different. I asked myself what I want for my oldest child and it turned into a poem. This poem is my feeble attempt to put into words my mission for my firstborn son:


Tyler, When You Grow Up

When you grow up,
I want you to show yourself a man

When you grow up,
I want you to show mercy as much as you can

When you grow up,
I want you to love God and hate sin

When you grow up,
I want you to fear God and not men

When you grow up,
I want you to know your God and know yourself

When you grow up,
I want you to lead and love your wife

When you grow up,
I want you to train your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord

When you grow up,
I want you to be a doer of the word

When you grow up,
I want you to speak truth boldly and without fear

When you grow up,
I want you to know that your home is not here

When you grow up,
I want you to find your joy in God and store up treasure in heaven

When you grow up,
I want you to be a passionate man

When you grow up,
I want you to cherish doctrine

When you grow up,
I want you to exalt Christ’s name and avoid self-glorification

When you grow up,
I want you to do risk-taking acts of love

When you grow up,
I want you to set your mind on things above

When you grow up,
I want you to love others enough to say what they don’t like

When you grow up,
I want you to save your life by losing your life

When you grow up,
I want you to deserve nothing in your own mind

When you grow up,
I want you to be genuinely kind

And when you grow up, son, I want you to know,
That wherever your earthly father is, your heavenly father is with you wherever you go