If our Lord Jesus was sitting right next to you right this very moment, and He turned to you and told you to do something for Him, would you obey?
I know the obvious answer. But I wonder if it’s the true answer. Because the Bible is full of commands, straight from the mouth of our God. Yet too often, we treat them as though they’re somehow…optional.
One such command is Christ’s command to His disciples just before His return to heaven; it’s found in Matthew 28:19-20. Commonly referred to as “the Great Commission,” this statement reveals Christ’s PRIMARY DESIRE for the work of HIS FOLLOWERS in the world.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…”
If this was Christ’s primary desire, and I am a follower of Christ, shouldn’t it also be my primary desire as well? There are many implications for Christians in this call; and for Christians who also happen to be parents, this call must be the driving force behind everything we do as we interact with our children.
God frequently reminds me in His still, small voice that my children are not mine at all…they are His. I have been entrusted with them for a time, but what I do with that time should ultimately be about Him.
Teaching them about Him, training them in His ways, demonstrating the reality of Him to them, pointing them to Him, leading them to Him. And perhaps most important of all, encountering Him myself, so they see ever before them a visible representation of one who is undoubtedly, unreservedly, without hesitation a disciple of Christ.
May they choose to be His disciples, too!
Check out these other posts on parenting!
Take Charge! A Parent’s High Calling
The Right Seeds This Parenting Thing is Impossible
Written by Jennifer Clarke
8/6/12