Marriage, Family, and Beyond - Raising Kids to Live Fully – Christ Over Substitutes
Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. Mark 10:16
So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7
Today's thoughts from today's verses:
Having our kids come to Jesus is our desire. If He were only here and He could take our kids in His arms and touch them and bless them, then surely, they would have a “faith” in Him that was all their own and they would spend a lifetime loving Him and living for Him. But Jesus is not here in that way. He is here in His church. Throughout the New Testament the church is called the Body of Christ and Jesus Christ is the Head. He manifests Himself on earth through His believers both individually and collectively.
So, His touch and His blessing on our kids have a lot to do with how freely He is able to manifest Himself through us on an individual and collective basis. As our kids experience the presence of Christ in us and the fellowship we share with our brothers and sisters in Christ, they will have the opportunity to respond to Christ’s presence with an initial and developing faith of their own. But again, Christ must be free to manifest Himself and that means we must get out of the way and not settle for any substitutes. Often our kids find it hard to love the church because our churches settle for substitutes and with Him not free to manifest His true presence, our kids do not readily experience Christ’s presence with His subsequent touch and blessing.
Today's prayer response from today's thoughts:
Lord, what an amazing thing it is to be supernaturally connected to you and your people. Keep us from relegating you to a figurehead so that your presence becomes merely theoretical. Manifest yourself in our midst so that our kids experience your presence in a way that helps them come to belong to you personally as well. Amen!
