A Legacy of Imitation February 24, 2007
Posted by Joe in : General Lessons , trackbackErin,
I am really enjoying this on-line conversation with you. It truly is a joy! It stimulates my thoughts and also serves, I believe, to help keep me focused on the task of parenting. If it serves as nothing more than a reminder of the truths we hold dear, I suppose it is well worth the effort. But I don’t think it will stop there.
Anyhow, there were naturally some thoughts stirring within me while I read your post regarding our being imitated by our children. In particular, the questions you posed at the end to any of our readers served to stimulate my thought. We have talked about the reality that we are teaching our children by our actions and attitudes (including every facial expression as well–amazing!) whether we realize it or not. They are always in training and they will imitate us for good and for ill.
This led me to think about the way in which the Lord uses our children to motivate us to greater holiness. I think this is worth some meditation for every parent. Specifically, we need to think about the reality that we need to become whatever we want our children to become. That is to say, wherever we want them to go, we need to go there first. That is tough stuff to be sure, but it makes sense. We just cannot give what we do not possess ourselves.
Two things need to be mentioned in relationship to that (at least). First, this means that we must be people of vision. And not just any vision, I believe, but a God-centered, Christ-entranced vision. That is to say, that in order to help our children become who we want them to be, we need to know what that will look like if it actually happens!
That sounds simple enough, but I’m not sure that enough parents are thinking this way. In the first place, I’m not sure that enough parents have a clear enough vision for their own lives. They don’t know who they want to become. Maybe they aren’t looking to imitate anyone. This might be a sign of such a downfall (a lack of vision that is). And flowing from that lack of vision for themselves is a lack of vision for their children. They aren’t really sure what they are trying to point them to. They need to ask themselves, what exactly is the goal?
And this is very important, of course, because if there is no goal, no big, over-arching vision, all the mundane tasks of parenting will become incredible drudgery. We have spoken about this time and again–especially for you as a mother. You can never lose sight of the fact that you are laying your life down to raise up human beings who love the Lord our God and are jealous to make Him known. We are laying our lives down for our children in order to help them take part in the greatest cause in all the universe, the redemption of all things through Jesus Christ the Son. On and on we can go, but suffice it to say that the long-range plan of our children joining us in the great cause of hastening the coming of Jesus must be kept in view for us to raise our children well.
And I would encourage us to be somewhat specific in this matter, particularly as our children grow older. Of course, we aren’t going to waste all sorts of man hours day dreaming about Elijah’s life at age 25. What will his job be? Who will he marry? Those questions are all well and good in due time (if the Lord wills), but they are more or less wasted energy now. That being said, we can still form a vision for his life knowing what we know of ourselves and his personality even now. And in particular, we can think about who we want him to be a few years from now (if the Lord wills) and what we can do about it today. That serves both us and him well. And I believe it honors the Lord.
The second thing I will mention is glorious, but I must be brief. In short, we need to have in view a long-range plan of leaving a legacy of imitation. We need to think long-term, as in, until the time Jesus returns. We need to ask ourselves, how do we have to live and what changes do we need to make in order to leave a legacy that lasts until Jesus comes to consummate all things? Naturally, this takes some serious envisioning, but what more significant question can we ask? It’s challenging, but the questions worth asking usually are. What kind of changes in my life do I need to make today in order to serve not only my children, but my posterity 200 years from now (if the Lord tarries)? That’s tough stuff, but if we are willing to ask such questions and deal with the answers, I believe the Lord will grant us His blessing.
Alright love, that is enough for now. I’m praying for the grace to leave a legacy with you. We know we can’t do it. That is for sure, but our God is that big. That being said, let us think and pray hard for a clear vision of who we want to be and what we want to leave behind. Then, with that big vision in view, let us labor in the trenches every moment of every day for the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (and our eternal joy!).
Laboring hard to leave a legacy with you,
Joe
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