Yesterday, I wrote a post about a passage of scripture I’ve been thinking about lately. Here’s the full post, but the one line summary is that Jesus invited Matthew to follow him right in the midst of a work, future planning and criticism.
I was thinking mainly about ministry leaders and how we sometimes want everything to be in place before we step out to invite, encourage and connect with people to follow Christ.
As parents, we may find ourselves in the same boat. We wish to spend some time praying with our children. We often think about reading Scripture together or talking about important, eternal things.
But instead, schedules overwhelm us. Bedtime routines stretch out for hours. And we look back on the last few months to realize, our focus has been on getting through life – with faint fantasies of quality, uninterpreted, spiritual growth with our kids.
I think this may be why the scripture (in Duet 6:6) has so much action. Talk about faith when you are home and when you are on the road. Talk about it when you lay down and when you get up. Keep it in front – even if only in bite sized chunks here and there. Even in the midst of lots of issues in life. Don’t wait for the perfect time when life slows down. Talk about things of faith tonight. Pray with your kids tonight. Pray before dinner this evening. Read one verse of scripture with your children today. Make worship a priority this week. Talk about how Christians should behave and live. Freely share your weakness and how you overcome it with the help of Christ. Grow together in faith. You don’t need to be a Bible scholar. Just invite your kids to experience what it means to follow Christ.
Jesus called Matthew to follow him smack in the middle of his work (healing / preaching), criticism (dealing with others issues and negative attitudes) and thinking about the future (his vision of why he is here).
And the awesome thing? Matthew got up and followed. I think people just need the invitation. Life isn’t going to slow down. So, give your kids an invitation to follow Jesus smack in the middle of it all. Then, trust the Lord.
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