Each week this fall another kid in the neighborhood has skated by on a hoverboard. Come Christmas morning I’m sure there will be plenty more kids enjoying their new rides. If you are unfamiliar with this latest craze, hoverboards look similar to a skate board, only they are electrically charged and self-balancing (think Back to the Future) with track lighting.
Definitely a coolness factor to them, just like GoPros, Beats, FitBits and Apple everything. Of course, cool comes at a price, not always within our means, but isn’t it fun when we are able to give our kids something they really want? One of my favorite joys as a parent – being able to surprise and delight my kids!
But as with most gadgets and toys once the newness wears off, the next best thing promptly finds its way onto the never ending Wish List. Not that we as adults are any different. Aren’t we all always searching for something more to satisfy our soul hole?
What if though I could give my kids an unquenchable hunger and thirst for Jesus that makes all else pale in comparison?
I know that sounds idealistic. Perhaps too impossible to even attempt trying to help our kids want Him more than everything else.
But, what if WE really viewed it as the most priceless gift we could ever give? Wouldn’t that change our approach?
We do want to give the very best to our kids and in many ways we do, yet we dismiss the charge of Deuteronomy 6 to talk to them about Him “when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Do we neglect this because we are too busy? Focus soley on what makes them happy (as discussed in my last post)? Resort to what takes the least effort?
Or… is it we just don’t know how to talk on that level?
We give Christian platitudes in hopes it will change their hearts. We play up outward behavior without ever delving into the motives and thoughts underneath. We have good intentions but then when they roll their eyes, shut us out or dismiss what we have to say, we eventually stop trying. Because it is such a struggle to apply the gospel to their lives (and ours) in a way that makes a difference we decide to just let the church or Young Life leaders take over. By doing so we abdicate our most high calling as parents and miss out on opportunity of growing together in grace with our children.
Like our kids, we need to get our story straight. We need to get who He is for us, so we know who we are in Him. When this starts to sink in all of the sudden we have the words to speak into our child’s hurting heart. We see where we (and they) look for identity in wrong ways. We begin to realize what idols are ruling us. We find rest in His perfect work in our place. We replace shame and guilt with freedom.
When we get the story straight and see it’s all about Him, lives and affections change. But it doesn’t come by more rules, better behavior or trying harder. It only happens when you come face to face with Grace.
What better time than this Advent season and the approaching New Year to discover more of who He is by prioritizing our time in His Word and with His people. Full of Christ, may we discover the Gift that satisfies completely… and the Gift we want to give most to our kids.
