Really Real

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.”
John 4:23 (NIV)

I am convinced that as a nation, as a people, as man and womankind we have a problem: we know spiritual things in our head without taking the time to process them in our hearts. We need to do what God’s word says in 2 Corinthians 13:5. It urges, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless of course, you fail the test?” We need to take the time to ask ourselves a few questions: Why do I feel this way? Does the Bible address this issue? If so, what direction is God giving me? This verse challenges us to act on our faith…to do something with it…to make it real! This verse is the difference between saying you are a Christian and living the Christian life.

As I sit back and observe my own life and those around me, I have concluded that we often do not examine ourselves for several reasons. The first is that we are ignorant (not malicious) because we simply do not know what the word says. It’s the reason why some Christians give others crazy, unbiblical advice---they just didn’t know better. Another reason is because we are sometimes a little lazy—we don’t take the time to see what the Bible has to say so we lean on our own understanding. The last reason is CHANGE. We are often terrified of change, even change for the better because change is unknown. The present is predictable, but change is unfamiliar and often times downright hard.

Yet, we have all heard or told someone that becoming a mother/parent changes everything! I whole-heartedly agree with this statement. Becoming a mom catapulted me out of a selfishness I didn’t even know I had!!! The same should be true about our daily walk with the Lord—it should change everything! As moms who are disciplining the next generation, we can’t afford to piece-meal our Christian faith. I want my sons to have a real relationship with Jesus. I don’t want them to associate faith with a set of rules and regulations.

I heard a while back that the reason why so many Christian college students are deserting the faith is because they were never taught to experience Jesus for themselves. I left that church service about year ago praying that God would help me lead Mikey (and Jeremiah) into a real relationship with Him so they could experience the power of God for themselves. In my pursuit to do so, I have come up with a few ideas:

1. Explain the Trinity—this question comes up a lot with Mikey. I have found two ways to try and explain it to him (although if you get real technical, some may disagree with me). Also, these ideas came from my Sunday School class, so I cannot claim them as originals. The first way to explain that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three persons but the same entity was to do so using H2O as an example. I put ice in one cup, water in another, and left one cup “empty”. I then explained that ice, water, and air (while different in their presentation) are three forms of the same thing: H2O. Another example involved taking an apple and cutting it in half. Then I explained that there is one apple made up of three parts: the peel, the flesh, and the core. One apple, but three parts.

2. Deal with issues by digging into God’s word. We have been dealing with sassiness and crude language (not cussing, but inappropriate, unkind/unloving language) in our house from our four year old. The other day I had just about enough when I decided to take a different approach. I said, “Hey Mikey, do you know what God’s word says about that kind of talk?” “What?” he responded. “It says that we should not let any unwholesome or bad words come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful to others so it will help and bless those who hear it.” (Ephesians 4:29—my own kiddie paraphrase). His response, “Really? What is unwholesome?” Then we talked about it and he said, “I didn’t know God said that.” That ended the crudeness for the moment, but the idea seems to have stuck. I remind him of that verse when he starts running off at the mouth again.

3. Serving others so we can experience God and see how he works in the lives of other people. My husband seems intent on feeding every homeless person who asks us for money. He doesn’t give out money, but he asks if they are hungry, what they would like, and then he drives to go get it and bring it back to that person. Then as a family we pray for that person. This has been such a blessing to us because now Mikey thinks God gave a job so we can have food and everyone else can too. LOL :) But the heart of the matter is teaching him to put feet to his faith.

4. Prayer. We have really been trying to emphasize the power of prayer and become more mindful of pointing out the many times God has answered our prayers. For example, we recently prayed for our friend Bella when she went into the hospital after falling down a flight of metal stairs at the zoo. We were so excited that she was released from the hospital after only one night and that her injuries were not more critical than a concussion. We also make a point of praying with Mikey when he is sick or hurt. When he feels better, he knows that Jesus healed him. One huge prayer that really broke my heart occurred when we were very lonely after moving away from Fort Lauderdale. Mikey prayed, “Thank you God for my friends that live far away, but please help me to have friends that live close.” I cried! Yet, we rejoice that over time God has answered that prayer and has provided us with some really wonderful friends that live nearby.

God is good and he is faithful and he is real! Let’s make a point of living out the gospel. Let’s make sure no part of our lives is hidden from Christ. Let’s help our children experience God for themselves.

Challenge: Think of a few creative ways you can help your children understand that Jesus is real and that God is all around them, even though they can’t “see” him face-to-face yet. Put those ideas into practice, and help them practice the presence of God.

Prayer:
Lord, this mom-thing is loaded with responsibility, but I am so thankful for it. I am constantly growing and learning in my walk with you. Help me to not be satisfied with “good enough”, but to pursue You and your righteousness with each breath that I take. May my faith be so much more than a Sunday thing, and may our kids, through my example and prayer, experience you for themselves. Please meet them right where they are at as you have so done so often for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.