Parenting And Faith | Passing The Torch

Parenting And Faith

Good morning everyone. Thank you very much to everyone for this opportunity to share a little on parenting.

We're not here to show you how exemplary of parents we are. Because many times, we get tired, and lose our temper. There is just so much noise and energy to deal with on a daily basis. That’s me trying to rest on a weekend some time back. I once saw a joke, about how only as a parent understood why Yoda died when Luke kept asking him questions. Too overwhelmed with questions, he was.

But I’m sure I am not alone. Somehow we unleash the worse parts of ourselves to the ones we care about the most.

Parenting has taught us many things. In short, it has helped us to reinforce God’s sovereignty, and reminded us to live our lives carefully.

We acknowledge that parenting is controversial. All parents will think their own parenting style is correct.

I just here to share something that resonates in our family, and hopefully with you, that God’s ways and plans are higher than our ways. He is sovereign over all. His foresight has eternity in mind, and it must force us to continuously surrender everything, especially our ambition for them, to God.

But surrender to Gods sovereignty also doesn’t mean doing absolutely nothing. We also still need to live our lives carefully.

When we become parents, we do not just have a physical body to take care of, we are also entrusted with a soul, that is eternal. We must endeavor to provide not just the physical needs, but also provide spiritual food with eternity in mind.

For a few years in our previous church, we read this passage aloud from Duetoronomy 6 every week. We were reminded weekly of expectations required by a parent.

In this passage, an instruction was followed in what is known to us today as the greatest commandment. We see God’s expectation for parents.

"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."

This is God's expectation for us. Teaching children to love God wholeheartedly, teaching the ways of God, helping them to feel Gods heartbeat, diligently, consistently, in all manners of daily activities.

This is a call to discipleship.

Parenting is a call for discipleship.

This is tough.

Sometime back, the idea of Kingdom Business was discussed. We believe parenting is kingdom business.

There are certainly the fun parts of parenting. But most of the time, it involves the mundane things like housework, helping with homework, putting kids to bed and also frustrating times like dealing with behaviour, and sibling rivalry.

But the mundane things also shape a child’s worldview, like the attitude of how we speak to our spouses, or how we respond to stressful or awkward situations, or the books we read, the shows we watch or games we choose play.

These too, also influences a child’s thoughts, and ultimately their inner voice when they feel insecure. This is why we are reminded in Eph 5 to be very careful of how we live, to make the most of every opportunity. Because if we do not actively disciple, if we are not actively involved, we eventually allow the voices and lusts of this world to consume them. and we all know that that requires very little effort to happen.

Having shared these hard truths, we also recognize that every child is different, and every family has their own struggles, we are no different.

There are no obvious or instant answers to the onslaught of worldly influence.

Discipleship is hard. Single parenting is hard. Parenting with special needs children is hard, Living with a same person after 10 years is just as hard!

But it doesn’t mean we close off everything around us and go with the flow. It also does not honor God if we become overprotective and live in a bubble and lose touch with reality.

In Matthew 10:16, as Jesus was sending out his disciples, there was a call to wisdom as well – to be sheep among the wolves, innocent, vulnerable, but also discerning of the times.

Parenting is call to be a positive influence for the next generation. No matter our circumstance, we need to ask God to give us wisdom all the time. But why?

It goes back to our reason for being – first as followers and disciples of Christ. To love the things that God loves, hate the things that he hates. Ultimately, we do it, not just because we are parents, we do it because we want to honor God.

So how has parenting impacted our faith? Firstly, because God is sovereign, we must always be ready to let go. As parents, we desire the best, but also recognize that we cannot determine the outcome of our children's lives.

Secondly, Acknowledging that we need to be active influencers, and that we certainly are empowered to lay the foundations of their lives, especially in the early years, shaping their worldview according to the word of God, helping them to discern the times.

Such that even if their life should crumble, they would still be left with the undeniable reality of an ever present, just, merciful God whose hands are always outstretched, wanting only the best for them.