On Purpose

As a result of all the quality time Summer allows with my people, I have been thinking a lot about the most important truths that I can emphasize to my children. The Bible is a big book full of truths for life and insights into God's character...but how can I boil it down? It seems that it keeps coming back to 4 main things in my conversation with them...the basics, if you will.

1. God created you and loves you so much He sent His Son to redeem you.

2. Love Him with all your heart, mind soul and strength.

3. Love others well.

4. God has a plan for your life.

And because they are 7, I think the temptation (for them and for me) is to think that plan is in the far off future. I want them to be excited about that--but also mindful that He has a plan for their 7 year old lives too. Right now.

I have been praying about how to explain that to them--give them Biblical marching orders, so to speak, and I think Matthew 5 is where we are going to camp.

¹³"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

^14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16 The Message

As I was re-reading it tonight it occurred to me that it would really behoove me to spend some time praying about the implications in my life, too. I confess that I hardly read the news anymore (I gave up watching it on tv as soon as children came into my home). It is just all too upsetting--the state of affairs in this world is wretched. Left unto ourselves we are a violent, immoral, scary lot capable of terrible things.

But God has not called us to hunker down and cower in our homes...to sit silently by and watch as the media, Internet, conversations around us are increasingly negative, impure, cynical or dark. No, He has called us to bring out the God-colors and God-flavors in this world.

Let's teach our children to do that--and let's commit ourselves to modeling it as well.