John 15:4, 5
Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Never before in my life have I been more humbly aware that I am not the source of the fruit of my life. I am a grateful conduit for the work God has faithfully done over the years.
Philippians 2:13
...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Last Sunday our oldest son, Greg, was appointed an elder in the Seattle Church of Christ. In accepting that responsibility, which is a reflection of his faith and the life he and his wife, Lisa, have lived, he mentioned his childhood memories of coming home from school in the afternoon to study the Bible with me over milk and cookies.
I was surely not looking for accolades, nor any credit for the choices he has made as an adult in serving the church and raising his two children to embrace Jesus and become disciples. but I was so happy for the young families in the audience to know that your children do not just absorb your faith through osmosis. Nor has God appointed our church's children's ministries nor our teen ministries with the task of making believers of our children. God has given that privilege and responsibility to parents--both mom and dad, and even grandparents.
II Timothy 1:5
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
I long for every Christian parent to understand that if they dream of their children making it to heaven, it will take an investment of their own time and energy and creativity and effort to allow that dream to come true. It will, primarily, require that they remain in the vine. Our faithfulness to God is our children's best hope for their own spiritual futures.
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