As
parents we often have unrealistic goals for all of our children. We want each
one of them to succeed in scholarship, sports, social status and personal
relationships.
We
may want them to succeed in an area in which we failed or were not allowed to
participate. This activity may not even interest them by any stretch of the
imagination; however, we push them to excel where we could not.
However,
no two people are ever alike. God created each of us with our own bent toward
the gifts and talents, which He equipped us with in order to walk in His will
(Ephesians 2:10).
To
force our child to play ball rather than to follow the desire to read, to read
and listen to classical music in place of playing in a rock band, or to sculpt
and draw instead of butting heads with a quarterback is thwarting God's purpose
for their life.
We
may have an ancestral home or family business that we cannot wait to share with
our progeny, when in reality God is calling them to the far reaches of the
world as missionaries.
Our
dream may include our child studying as a doctor or lawyer, in order to have
the financial means for their family that we were not able to provide for ours.
However,
our children are just on loan to us from our Heavenly Father and His will for
them is much better than our desires for them will ever be.
God
does call us as faithful stewards over our children's lives, to train them up
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), to give them a solid
foundation in God's Word (Deuteronomy 11:19) and to teach them by our example
to walk in God's Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Prayer:
Father
God, You do not care about how much we do for You, because You desire that we
walk in Your Spirit. You do not want us to depend on our good works to earn a
place in heaven, because You already reserved a place for us through Christ's
sacrifice.
In
order to please You, all we need to do is have faith in Your faithfulness
(Hebrews 11:6). You created us with a purpose and desire for
nothing more from us or our children than to walk in Your will for our life.
Thought for the Day:
As children of our Father God, we please Him by
obeying His Word in total surrender to His will for our life.
