As parents, our mission from God is similar to that of John the Baptist. We are to prepare the way for our children to receive the Kingdom of God by teaching them about Him and living our lives for Him. We are put on this Earth as authority over them to prepare their hearts to recognize and receive Jesus when He chooses to personally reveal Himself to them. When that time fully arrives and we see them humble themselves by recognizing their need for Jesus as Savior and accepting Him as Lord of their lives, then, like John, we must decrease so that Christ can become their authority. But until such time, our "mission" is not yet accomplished.
There is no set age when a child who is brought up in the admonition of Christ will come to recognize their personal need for Him, however God gives us an example in Numbers 14:29 to ponder. Those under age 20 were not held accountable for participating in their parents' faithlessness and sins in the wilderness. Everyone over age 20 was individually accountable for their sin though. Interestingly, if you do a little scientific research about the stages of brain development, you will find that it is between the ages of 12-19 that the brain begins to finish the process of cognitive maturity with discernment of right and wrong, empathy, and complex reasoning. By age 20, the brain is considered mature and capable both scientifically and more importantly, by God. Note, I am not suggesting that 20 is the "age of accountability" that many like to speculate about in terms of unsaved children and sin. It may be. It may not be. This is the only instance in the Bible where we see an age of accountability carried out so I'll leave that to your discernment. What I am using this information to suggest is that young children who repeat the "sinner's prayer" more than likely have no idea what it means to them and should not be considered "saved" because they said it at age 5. Your job as John the Baptist is not yet complete. Considering the passage in Numbers, I would not think my mission complete until my kids are closer to 20 and bearing the fruit of the Kingdom OR there's some life altering experience that makes me know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are walking with Him. Then I, as a friend to the Bridegrrom, will step aside for Him and into a supportive role to both He and my child.
Parents need to examine themselves daily to be certain that they are in fact children of God in whom the Kingdom of God has been established. You cannot prepare the way for another to enter into something you do not have knowledge of or possess. Luke 17:20-21 Thankfully, God gives us many signposts to check ourselves by. The fruit of the Spirit is always a good place to start. Galations 5:22 Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are all things godly parents should have and strive to instill into their children daily. But the Kingdom of God in us should be rooted deeper than all these because anyone can have some of these fruits, some of the time. Matthew 7:11 The Pharisees and Saducees looked godly from the outside but were empty of God on the inside. 2 Timothy 3:5
The "Kingdom of God" for us on Earth is personal access to God through Jesus while we live on Earth. It's relationship, not religious rites. Prior to Jesus's coming, this was not possible for all people. This personal "access" is what the Pharisees and Saducees failed to recognize. They also needed to step aside for Jesus as John the Baptist did but they refused. Jesus told them many times, "The Kingdom of God has come NEAR you." He, the Kingdom of God, stood right in front of their faces, but they were never able to receive Him due to their religious pride.
We need to guard our own hearts against religious pride so that we do not fall into the trap of hypocrisy and lead others including our precious children astray. We are not saved because our parents were Christians. We are not saved because we go to church. We are not saved because we do nice things for people. We are not saved because we wear Christian jewelry and quote scripture. We are not saved because other people believe we are a good Christian. Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you humble yourselves and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:2-4
Jesus was always unlocking the mystery of the Kingdom of God and inviting us into it during his ministry; at first directly and then through parables. His very first sermon, the Beattitudes, laid the groundwork for how to receive this Kingdom and should be one of our checklists as to our maturity in the Kingdom. Matthew 5:3-10
Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Poor in spirit = humble. Step one, humble yourself, see your need for the Savior or you'll never see God. Humility seems to be the biggest stumbling block between those who know about God and those who are known BY God.)
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. (What are they mourning? This is not simply mourning the things that hurt us, but mourning the things that hurt God. We mourn the condition of the world)
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. (Meek=teachable. God has no room for "know it alls.")
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. (Do we long for a world free of sin? Do we do our best to NOT participate in sin?)
Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. (Are we truly compassionate?)
Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. (Examine your motives for serving God)
Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. (Do we seek peace or enjoy strife and gossip?)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (If you were accused of the crime of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?)
Unfortunately for the Pharisees and Saducees, it was as if Jesus spoke a foreign language. Their hypocrisy blinded them to their own sinfulness. They considered themselves great scholars of the Word of God yet they failed to see even the similarities between the Beattitudes and this Psalm of David, which was part of their hymnal, pointing to the Kingdom of Heaven. Psalm 15:1-5
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
Like John the Baptist, we are set above our children to lead them to Christ, but we need to make some clear distinctions for them; we are not above Christ, we simply point them to Him. For the majority of Samuel's life here, he believed in Jesus, prayed to Jesus but it was "my" Jesus. Jesus was not his Jesus yet. (I think this holds true for many believer's young children) Samuel put his trust in me knowing I put my trust in Jesus and Jesus did a remarkable work on Samuel's heart to bless this trust. (and trust me, "I" didn't do everything right, but He honored me anyway; love covers a multitude of sins and the motive of my heart was usually right) Samuel never said "the sinner's prayer." He didn't need to. He was sanctified by God and considered a holy child through my faith. 1 Corinthians 7:14 At some point though, as children get older, they need encouragement to take full responsibility for their personal relationship with Him. An integral part of preparing the way is not holding them back when Jesus is calling them to draw near to Him. Samuel was no exception except for his young age; he was 6 years and 17 days old when I encouraged him to call out to Jesus as HIS Savior, HIS Rescuer, HIS Healer. In his final hour here, it became painfully clear to me that I was holding him back from running to Jesus. He was still asking me for help and I had been helpless to help him for weeks at that point. It was time that he realized that "I" was no longer able to help him and was only able to for as long as I did because Jesus allowed me that privilege. It was obvious that "my" time was done and His time was at hand. I had to decrease so He could increase, I had to step down so He could step into His rightful place in Samuel's life. I'll never forget that moment. The moment Samuel called out to HIS Savior and was truly saved, rescued and ushered speedily into the literal Kingdom of God. It was a humbling bittersweet moment for me to fully understand that my mission from God was accomplished. It was VERY hard to relinquish the authority I was given over Samuel's life back to His life giver. It was a painful lesson in humility but one I needed to learn so I could truly come to know Jesus as I'm so doing today.
One in Heaven, three more to go. Miles and miles before I sleep.
"Hands Full" is my Tuesday blog feature about the full time job of raising children according to God's Word. If you are a Christian parent who has chosen to forgo materiality to put your children first by being home with them, who may also homeschool them (an often thankless job the worldly show lowest esteem for), you will find this feature both an exhortation and an encouragement to keep living out the will of God. You will also find that, if you allow it, God will use your own children to teach and correct YOUR relationship with Him. Please feel free to share the link. To read the introduction to this series, click here.
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