Lesson from a Child

Their smiles melt my heart and, at times, have literally brought tears to my eyes because of how very much I love them. I have often thought about how intense my love for them is and it reminds me of how that isn't even a miniscule, remote percentage of how much Jesus loves me. Believing parents are consistently reminded of their own relationship with the Father through their interactions with their own children, but I was particularly hit by that fact yesterday when we picked up our 3 kids from an overnight stay with the grandparents.

I am proud to say that both of my girls (we have 2 girls and 1 boy) have become huge daddy's girls. I'm not ashamed of it and I will flaunt that fact wherever I go and whenever I can :)! However, that has become especially true of our youngest, 14-month-old Lyric. She is usually obsessed with her daddy and rarely will let anyone hold her if I am around. She has gotten better about that as she has gotten older and started walking, but the fact is she still will come to me pretty much before anyone--even her precious momma. Ironically, yesterday when we picked them up, she went straight to her mom and didn't want me to hold her. I didn't think too much about it, (though my feelings were slightly wounded--haha), so I just waited for her to get all the momma love she needed and planned on picking her up when Kristen (my wife) put her down. Well, that didn't go so well either. Once she put her down, Lyric became interested in playing with a toy computer that was on the floor, so when I tried to pick her up and love on her, she was having none of that. She had become way more interested in the toy. I sat there crouched down, with my feelings really hurt this time, and thought, "Has she stopped being a daddy's girl? Is she upset with me? Why is she acting like this? All I want to do is love her and hug her and hold, and she won't let me." My heart was broken.

Then the thought came flooding in, "Don't you think that is the way God feels about you? He wants to pour His love over you? He wants to 'hold' you and feel and see you loving Him back with your heart and life, but so many times you turn to things that aren't necessarily bad, but just aren't where He is." It hit me that for the millionth time that God doesn't move, we do. He waits patiently for opportunities to lavish is love and grace on us, but we so often get distracted and go to other things before we ever allow Him into our situations. Just like Lyric went to other things and wasn't interested in me, we do the same to God...or at least I do the same to God. The truth is it doesn't even have to be bad things that I am running to. Lyric ran to valid things before she came to me that weren't bad, and were actually good, but my heart hurt because she didn't run to me first.

How many times do we run to other things, even good things, before we run to Jesus? How do you think that makes Him feel? Of course, He never stops loving us or lavishing His love on us even when we go to other things, but we would find peace so much quicker if we ran to Him first and let everything else fall into place as it should. A lesson learned from a baby. My simple mind needed that reminder.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

By the way, Lyric finally realized she needed me, and this morning when her mom got her up she whined and cried until she was in my arms. She's still a daddy's girl, and I'm still the Father's son.

The Journey Begins

I was asked to lunch this past week by a friend and leader in our church to discuss the future of families and their part of our church mission/vision. He and other members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) asked me if I would be interested in putting together and facilitating a group that explores what it means to be a mature and equipped family unit, and what it will take for us at Perimeter Church to produce these types of families and have that flow into the culture of who we are and how we do things at our church. I'm excited about this new challenge! I feel like something big could come from it. Not big so that I will have the glory and feel and accomplishment, but BIG...as in God-size BIG. There is something about a project like this that feels like Jesus is right in the middle of it and it has potential to not only affect our own congregation here at Perimeter, but congregations around the world. That's huge to me! It's not about 1 person or 1 dream, it's about a team of people seeking God and truly trying to discover where the role of the family unit fits into discipleship and how we live out our faith together. With a 7 year old, 5 year old, and 14 month old, I am right in the middle of the demographic we are targeting and wanting to come alongside to mature and equip them to live out a genuine faith in Christ as an entire family. Wow! What a pleasure to even be asked to be a part of facilitating something I feel has God's name written all over it!

Later that same day, I met with my mentor, Carl Wilhelm, and we began to discuss briefly the idea of what a mature and equipped family might look like:

1. Biblical structure within home

2. Husband leads by serving the wife, children, and others

3. Enthusiastic attention to the injustices of children and the least and lost of society

4. Clear evidence of close and sincere walk with the Lord as a family unit

5. Higher priority to spend time touching unchurched or unbelieving people than just hang around believers and not venture past those relationships of convenience and comfort

6. Lead well financially--that doesn't mean be wealthy, but spend money wisely and Biblically...basically making Biblical financial decisions

7. Parents more interested in shepherding the hearts of their kids and not just the actions

8. Intimacy in the home--deal with conflict Biblically and quickly. The respect and love for one another in the home is so great that any conflict or disagreement is quickly worked through, even if there is a loving decision to agree to disagree

9. Living out of Deuteronomy 6 and Proverbs 31

10. Consistency is agape love of each other and others

Lord,

As we start this adventure, please give us wisdom to know what a mature and equipped family truly looks like; what material and equipping we need here at Perimeter to make this part of our culture; and show us places that are doing it well so we can come up with some best practices. Anoint this team and do great things. May it truly do well the task that has been assigned it. IN JESUS NAME, Amen!

I read this in The Message Bible in Ephesians 4 this morning:

Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

^14-16No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Mature and equipped...according to these verses, that is what God longs for all of us to be. So, with feet of clay and a undeniable need of a gracious and loving Savior and Lord, I move forward and take on this new task I have been asked to be a part of. To God be the glory!