A 300 Word Encouragement for Parents at Christmas

So I came across a post by a pastor in Texas last night that contained an admonition to parents. In my head, I did a few quick “theological calculations” and thought. - yeah, good point. However, the post, being a simple twitter sentence, didn’t fully communicate what I was thinking and came off as a little legalistic/works righteousness. (Thanks to one of my faithful church members for pointing it out). I took it down so I could post something more clear along the lines that it directed my thoughts. I don’t mean to be critical of the posts author (he’s someone I haven’t met, but do respect based on what I’ve read from him in the past), but I wanted to do a quick blog about it because I thought it was a helpful thought. And, ironically, this “introduction” is almost as long the actual “blog” which begins in the next paragraph.

In Matthew 1:19, we meet Joseph who was “a righteous man.”

Luke 1:28, 30, & 38 tells us about Mary’s faith: she “found favor with God” and responding to the craziest news ever she called herself God’s slave and submitted fully to His will.

Later, we see Joseph & Mary following the Lord’s pattern for His people. From His circumcision on the eighth day to their trip to Jerusalem for Passover in Luke 2:40 - “when they had finished everything according to the Law of the Lord…” they were clearly faithful followers of God.

Clearly God had given both Joseph and Mary great faith and they were living in response to His gift to them. By all accounts, they were godly parents.

Here’s the encouragement: God obviously isn’t going to place His Son in your care, but as Christian parents, we have a great responsibility to live out our Christian faith in our homes as we strive to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4b).

Are you raising your children in such a way that the Lord would entrust His Son to your care? While your child isn’t Jesus (insert all sorts of comments here at your leisure), your children are precious to the Lord and He HAS entrusted them to you and your parenting in a very real and important way. Their salvation obviously rests in God and His sovereignty in election, that doesn’t diminish the importance of your role in their lives. Are you taking that seriously? Because when you do, even with all the struggles, chaos, and difficulty that parenting is, it’s truly a joy and a privilege to be entrusted with these precious souls God has placed in our care. (He’s also given us the best parenting book possible!)

Grace & Peace

Rob Signs