Every child is born with a heart like a bounty of rich soil hungering for seeds and water. Sometimes we forget that our every word and deed, whether good or bad, is either a seed or weed that can easily take root in their lives. It's imperative then that we watch our witness at all times but most especially in front of our children. We live in a land where sin reigns. Weeds are inevitable and we all fall short. If it be we who sow a weed into their heart, we must humble ourselves as little children, before our children and ask their forgiveness or those weeds can quickly take over and choke the precious garden of their heart.
Christian parents need to be diligent in sowing good seed and additionally watering and weeding the soil - not just in their children, but even more so in themselves. (Matthew 13:27-28) That means keeping yourself cleansed by the Word of God and also submitting to His authority and correction. But, please let your little children help you stay on the right track; most especially the littlest ones. They can teach so much about humility and unconditional love....if we'll just humble ourselves and listen. We are all at different stages in our walk with Him and you may not see it now, but in so doing these things, we plant a bounty of "good" seeds in our children. (and they in us too) One day they will look back and remember how important God was to us by what we taught them through word and deed, and even more importantly, they will remember how we placed such importance on their knowledge of Him as we allowed them to teach and correct us in some instances. All these seeds planted in faithfulness and humility now will have firm roots in them in the future. Other "good" seeds we need to be planting are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:21-23) Add to these humility, grace, mercy, wisdom, perseverance, purpose, faith, integrity, compassion, hope and godliness. One can see how we have our "hands full." Ideally we should want our hands full - of good seed, and all good seed is supplied by the Lord so we always need to look to Him for guidance in what He wants us to plant as well as what he wants us to weed out. (Matthew 13:37)
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| My little gardener, Anna, has a green thumb already! We often say,"there's Delma," when she gives us a grain of Del's wisdom. (It's a wonderful gift) She's definitely got a lot of Delma in her, and Samuel too but this I know; I don't want to be the one to sow weeds in her garden and ruin the amazing work that God is doing in her. She makes me work harder than ever to see that this doesn't happen. |
Remember the mustard seed that grew into a tree? That should be our goal: to become transformed, unshakable in the Lord and always covered in an abundance of good seed. We plant useless seeds in our children if we are the kind of Christian that cannot weather the storms of life and lose faith in God when trouble comes. There's a word for that: wishy-washy, and it's not a compliment. However if we are continually watering and refreshing ourselves in the Word, our roots will grow deep, thick and strong. If we diligently weed, prune and cultivate our soil, we will become a much healthier, stronger, and vibrant plant - or tree if God allows it. If we choose to be lax about these things, we will wither away and become detrimental to those around us. God may even cut us down completely. (Matthew 7:19)
Still seeds don't mature overnight and it may take years of sowing the same seeds over and over before seeing them harvest in our children. (And ourselves) Naturally, their minds cannot always comprehend the full meaning of what they are seeing, or what they have been told and taught until adulthood. 1 Corinthians 13:11 - When I was a little child, I talked and felt and thought like a little child. Now that I am a man my childish speech and feeling and thought have no further significance for me. Spiritually, it is God who is responsible for which seeds spring to life, how fast they grow and what they become. (1 Corinthians 3:6-8) Our job is to be diligent and not lose our faith, our hope, or our love in the process when we aren't seeing what we want to see.
The mark of spiritual maturity, the place where we can start rejoicing in the harvest in ourselves and our children, is when we see actions motivated by godly love.. 1 Corinthians 13:13 - In this life we have three great lasting qualities - faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love. When we step foot into eternity, every Earthly thing will be suspended and superseded - by love. Love needs to always be our motivation and we know that love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8 If we are not fully convinced that this is true, and our actions do not support this belief, how will we ever convince our children of anything useful in this life - or the next one?
The mark of spiritual maturity, the place where we can start rejoicing in the harvest in ourselves and our children, is when we see actions motivated by godly love.. 1 Corinthians 13:13 - In this life we have three great lasting qualities - faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love. When we step foot into eternity, every Earthly thing will be suspended and superseded - by love. Love needs to always be our motivation and we know that love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8 If we are not fully convinced that this is true, and our actions do not support this belief, how will we ever convince our children of anything useful in this life - or the next one?
They are counting on us to know and do what is right for them, both for today and for eternity. May we take the gardening we are called to do more and more seriously each day. Let us remember and not take lightly the blessings and responsibilities He sets before us. He is watching and He will ultimately judge all our gardens in the end.
1 Corinthians 3:9-15 - In this work, we work with God, and that means that you are a field under God's cultivation, or, of you like, a house being built to his plan. I, like an architect who knows his job, by the grace God has given me, lay the foundation; someone else builds upon it. I only say this, let the builder be careful how he builds! The foundation is laid already, and no one can lay another, for it is Jesus Christ himself. But any man who builds on the foundation using as his material gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble, must know that each man's work will one day be shown for what it is. The day will show it plainly enough, for the day will arise in a blaze of fire, and that fire will prove the nature of each man's work. If the work that the man has built upon the foundation will stand this test, he will be rewarded. But if a man's work be destroyed under the test, he loses it all. He personally will be safe, though rather like a man rescued from a fire.
4 comments:
Although I don't have children, I take your words to heart regarding my nieces and nephews and the other young people in my life.
Kudos to you for mothering your children full-time! Stay-at-home moms have my utmost respect and admiration. May God bless you in that ministry to His kingdom through your lovely little ones.
Wonderful wonderful post!! I wish that I had a green thumb. These photo's make me envious :)
Oh, you are so right. Our words - our witness - are either seeds or weeds. What a responsibility we have as parents!
I believe this is my first time visiting here. It's nice to "meet" you.
I love planting flowers and seeds - but the weeding - oh my, that's the hard part - and the shaping, pruning! The weeding in the teen years is grueling, uncomfortable like garden work in 100 degrees - and some weeds - well, eradicating those roots takes stick-to-it-iveness - and the help from a stronger source!
I try to plant good seed - but when bad seed drops, I address it,ask forgiveness for it - and talk about redemption - that God knows we will fail - we just need to keep trying!!!
I just took 3 younger boys to the blueberry patch - I think there is nothing more beautiful than children in gardens and fruit patches! So glad I stopped by!
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