Tough Yet Comforting Realites

"Mom, what day is it tomorrow?"

"Sunday."

"Oh."

And then after a very long pause, she whispers to me:

"I don't really like Sundays because it is so hard to sit still for so long."

This conversation didn't really surprise me. Actually, I am somewhat thankful that, while it took a bit, she felt comfortable to tell me something that she knew I would probably not really like to hear. It gave opportunity for a great discussion about the whys of Sundays.

Her opinion though has given me food for thought about God, my children and their walk with Him. If you talk to any Christian parent, their top goal in parenting is to teach their children about the Lord; that our children learn His ways. We pray daily that our children will grow up to know their Lord as their Saviour, and then to live a life of thankfulness to Him.

While we teach them about God, read the Bible daily, take time to teach the Bible stories, memorize a lot of the psalms/hymns that our church sings, send them to Christian schools, go to church joyfully every Sunday - despite doing all that and more, the tough reality is

I can't give my children faith.

I can't make sure that they will be in heaven.

I can't give them salvation because I can't save them!

Although I want them to be saved, the tough reality is I can't do it! I can't do the actual saving!

Oh, this can be so tough to swallow at times.......especially when we think by doing all the above will help them to gain entrance into heaven. But when this fact can be tough to swallow, it is time to sit back and re-evaluate, because that means the focus is all wrong. It is all on man.

And this is where this tough reality turns to a comforting one, because saving my children is not my job! And good thing - because I can't even save myself! No, saving my children is something that Someone has already done - Someone who was able to handle the burden of God's wrath on my (our) behalf, Someone who was blameless. Someone who is God.

That's not to say then, that we don't need to teach our children about God. On the contrary, we do need to instruct them. In fact, we are commanded  to train up our children in His ways, which is clearly stated in Deuteronomy 6: 6

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

We promised to do this when we had our children baptized as infants, with the vows of "I do" to 3 questions. But what a humble reminder that there is no Question 4 that goes along these lines:

"Do you, mother and father, promise to do all you can to save your children, so that they may be welcomed into heaven on account of how you parented them?"

What a relief that my children's salvation is not up to me. What a comfort it is to know that faith is a gift I can't give, but is a free gift given by our God.

May we then go forward, parenting our children according to the Scriptures, in the full realization that all we are, are instruments in God's hand.  May we then pray for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom, guidance and encouragement as we raise His children.

Although we can't save our children, we can definitely pray for them!! May this prayer then be on our lips day in and day out:

Loving Shepherd of Thy sheep,
 All Thy lambs in safety keep;
Nothing can Thy power withstand,
None can pluck them from Thy hand.

May they praise Thee every day,
Gladly all Thy will obey;
Like Thy blessed ones above,
Happy in Thy precious love.

Loving Shepherd, ever near,
Teach Thy lambs Thy voice to hear;
Suffer not their steps to stray
From the straight and narrow way.

Where Thou leadest may they go,
Walking in Thy steps below;
Ten, before Thy Father's throne,
Saviour, claim them for Thine own.