On March 4, 2018 I had the honor and privilege of seeing my precious nephew Zachary get baptized! It was such a special day and he had the congregation laughing! As parents today, raising their children in the Christian faith is harder then ever. When parents like Zachary's have their child baptized or dedicated it is so refreshing. It gives hope to the world! One of the reasons I want to work at a Christian preschool one day is because of this. I want to support these parents and let them know that they are not alone. Zach has a family filled of faith and because of that Zach will know the way he should go. Proverbs 22:6 promises "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (NLT). I know this is true because I was raised in a devout Christian home. As a child, I remember being in church every time the doors were open. I was a Deacon's kid and my whole world centered around Jesus Christ and the church. The hardest part of being raised in a home of faith like I was is is making faith our own and not something that becomes complacent. Going to church or believing in God simply isn't enough. We need to make it personal because God is personal God. I expect Zach will have issues in his walk because we all do. I will do my best to encourage him and help him understand faith means nothing if it is not personal. I want him to feel comfortable asking the hard questions about faith such as "Why do bad things happen to good people?" It is good and healthy to have these questions. These questions help us develop our worldview. An example of this concept is when we ask "Why does God allow bad things to happen?" We will be more prone to finding the answer, searching and seeing God in those situations. After 9/11 more people went to church then ever before to help them answer that question. People who are not Christians even ask these questions because whether they admit it or not they want know that there is a God who can meet them where they are and heal their wounds. This is why we saw an entire nation, an entire world, searching for God after 9/11. I want Zach to learn how to be a strong boy and men of faith in this world. I want him to see past the headlines. I want him to be secure enough in himself and his faith that he is not easily swayed by the actions of his peers. I want him to go by his own drum and know that if he loses friends in the process it is their loss. I am so blessed to have been raised in close-knit family filled of faith in which I learned how to make my faith my own and not just see is as part of my family. I think that is the most important thing Christian parents can teach their child- to make their faith own and not something that is just a part of their family. I am certain that this is how we will raise Zachary. The family raises the child with the parents! I am blessed to know the type of home my nephew will be raised. The way our parents raised us is being passed down because just like the verse in Proverbs, we didn't depart from it.
No comments:
Post a Comment