"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
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