A Letter To My Children
“A Letter To My Children”
By Pastor Andrew Malek
June 21, 2021
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
There are certain things that aren’t in the manual when it comes to parenting, but often we find that the how to's are far less important than the with-who's. There are many things that we want our children to know, or that we want to teach our children-- how to succeed, carry themselves with integrity, navigate pain, loss, hurt, rejection, and failure. It is not the different moments that have impacted us the most as adults; it is our relationship with God. What remains is Jesus.
Proverbs 22:6 does not say to train up a child in the things that he should know; it says to train up your child in the way he should go. This refers to the times when they will have to navigate the storms of life and the challenges and complexities that our world has to offer. This scripture encourages us to give our children a marker to guide them so they do not depart from it.
A.W. Tozer said that “what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” These are the most important things that I want my kids to know:
1. You are loved. It is clearly laid out in scripture that we are loved. God’s love is not something that began when we were born; it was birthed long before we were ever born. Scripture says that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Although we know all of these truths, we can easily lose sight of them. We are often harder on ourselves than anybody else. We may feel that we are not worthy of God’s love. We tend to elevate our standards about how love should work above what Jesus actually said. There is often a disconnect between Jesus saying we are loved and what we feel every single day.
However, the more we declare God’s truth in our lives, the more we allow God’s love to comfort and meet us, the more we can live with confidence. We should want our kids to run to the Lord when they face the challenges of life. We should never allow our children to go a day in their lives without knowing how much we love them as a parent and how much Jesus loves them because the world is going to try to disconnect them from that truth. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8).
2. You are enough. Because God is enough, we are enough. The world is going to tell us that we are not enough. The currency that the world trades in is accomplishments and success, but that is not Kingdom currency. God has plans for us and wants to do more in us, but it has nothing to do with our value. We are enough because God said we are enough.
Jesus did not come so that we could make Earth our home; he came so that our heart could find its home. God’s mission has always been us, even when we were in sin, and even when we chose to reject him. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us it's by grace we have been saved. If what is feeding us is accomplishment, then failure is going to eat us alive, and so is accomplishment. It's never enough. We're always striving to be in a position where God says we are in, but the truth is that we are already in. We are enough.
3. You are not the only one. We are loved and enough, but we need to know that Jesus loves the whole world the same way he loves us (John 3:16). His love is available and in pursuit of all humanity (1 John 4:12). When we understand God's love the natural response is gratitude. Our love for others should be the response to God’s love for us. The world will try and drive a wedge between us and the love Jesus calls us to. Jesus loved us long before we were born, and he loves our neighbors the same way as well. Jesus came with humanity as his only priority. One of the most dangerous things in our life is when we allow our desire for achievement to get in the way of our call to love people the way God has loved us.
Reflection/Discussion Questions:
Do you believe that you are loved? How does your life reflect this?
Do you believe that you are enough? How does your life reflect this?
Do you know that you are not the only one whom God loves? How does your life reflect this?
How can you share the love of God with others this week?
