I often wonder if there is enough room in our kids’ hearts to allow the love of the Father to break in and manifest.
Living in the world we live in, the lives of our kids can sometimes be partly filled with the cultures of a modern day society: computer games, sports, academic commitments, and so on. Add to this the “normal” family life they have to cope with, and you start to see how the room in their hearts and lives gets easily consumed.
This is not condemnation by no means—just a generalization of a kids’ life today.
I love to take time during corporate worship and watch our kids of all ages while they are with their families before they go out to class. I love how they act and laugh totally unaware, just being themselves, and I sometimes flip it around with how the Father watches us and in those moments of total unawareness, He must smile over us as He is filled with complete joy which then spills over into our lives.
It is moments like these that make me feel encouraged that, in spite of all the accessories of a modern day society and a full-on school life, there is more than enough room in our kids’ hearts for the Fathers’ love to dwell and manifest, and it begins from a worship environment in a place of family togetherness.
As adults we have often had those “But for God” experiences during times of worship and seen or even been part of wondrous things happening. The question that jumps at me here is, can our kids have these moments and experience some of the things we have experienced? In a word, yes. Why not?
Perhaps as parents, wouldn’t it be good if we took a few moments now and then during our week to speak to our kids as the Father speaks with us, often going deep with affirmation, care and whispers of the heart? After all, our precious Father is never too busy to speak to us, whether we choose to hear Him or not. So together, and as a family, let us seize these priceless moments above and amongst the noise and activities of our world and show them their world doesn’t have so busy all the time.
And when the time comes, may we not so be hasty in dismissing our kids to leave and get ready for their lessons, but let us allow them to stay and enjoy these moments, because it is what follows in these moments that truly shapes them and helps to become the people that God wants them to be—or as a good friend and wise man once said recently, “Fire-starters or Fire-fighters!
