Eric and I stood in front of our church family today, and we dedicated our boys to the Lord. We promised to raise them in a Christian household, to teach them about Jesus, and to serve Christ through our jobs as parents. We promised to do all of the things that we've planned to do since we became parents--but this time, we promised in front of a lot of people, and more importantly, in front of God. This dedication is something that we'd *meant* to do for months after Nate was born. And after a little over a year, we figured we might as well wait a few more months to make a family of four event. So now, nine months after our little Levi joined the family, we have finally done it. We've publically dedicated both of our boys back to the Lord. A baby dedication is not a baptism or a guarantee, but rather a vow (on the parents' part) to train up our children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).
I have been reading about Samuel's mother, Hannah, recently (1 Samuel 1&2). Hannah's willingness to very literally give her child back to the Lord convicted me a bit. If she was willing and able to give Samuel, who was the very desire of her heart--her son!--back to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:28), I should be willing to do the same. No, I'm not taking my boys to church to live there and be little assistants to the pastor in a modern day version of Hannah's Samuel. Why? Because that's not what the Lord has asked of me. But, if he does, I should be willing to let them go. These sweet boys of mine who are the most precious things in the world to me are not entirely mine. They belong first to the Lord, and then to Eric and me.
Our children are precious to us. They are the most important gifts that we'll ever receive, second only to our salvation through Jesus Christ. I once read a blog entry that discussed idols in today's world, and it really made me think. It seems that we often bypass the second and third commandments because they're the ones that we're sure we don't violate--no other gods before Him? Easy peasy; I've never even seen a golden calf statue, let alone considered bowing down before one! But, the gods of today's world are different from those of the Old Testament--or are they? An idol can be anything that we love more than God. Anything. Money? Friends? Material possessions? Our own children?!
Now, hold it right there--our kids can be our "gods before" HIM?! Yup. Anything we love more than God. Anything. That aforementioned blog entry discussed how children are the only idol that is commonly "acceptable" in the modern church. And, by "acceptable", I'm not talking about acceptable to God, but rather "acceptable" to us, the sinful humans. And, that's just not cool. God has made it very clear that we are to have NO other gods before Him--not even our beautiful babies, who are precious gifts from Him. We love our children very much, but we must be careful that the love we have for them does not overshadow the love for our Saviour. I'm not saying that you necessarily need to love your children any less, but rather that perhaps you should examine your relationship with your Creator. Are you giving Him all of your heart AND soul AND mind?
As parents, our jobs are huge and busy and never-ending. But, there is only one way that we're going to be the parents that HE designed us to be, and that is by putting Christ first in our lives. Strength for those sleepless nights? Patience with the toddler's tantrums? Wisdom during the scary teenage years? There is NOTHING that our God cannot handle, and with His help ANYTHING is possible! We were designed to praise, honor, and worship Him in all that we do--even me as a stay-at-home mommy. It is my job to show my boys what a real relationship with Christ is, and, oh what a job! The best (and only!) way to do that is to demonstrate it in my own life. As many hopes and dreams as I have for my two little ones, I have only one real desire for them--that they both grow up to be godly men who have a strong faith in the Lord. I want their relationship with Christ to shine so brightly from their lives that it easily overshadows anything else. Sure, I want them to grow up into happy and successful men who have everything they've ever wanted--but more than that, "I [will] have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth" (3 John 4).
Happy Mother's Day!!
