In this article I
wrestled with what to say and how to end 2010. When I thought about the birth of Jesus, the season of
Advent and the parents of Jesus, it came to me. The people that we talk about today, the people who were
actively involved in the development of Jesus, the man, were his parents. What a joy it must have been to know
that Jesus was going to transform the world we live in. Mary and Joseph didn’t know how He
would impact the world but they sure knew that He was important.
Your
teens, although at times misguided and challenging, are going to impact the
world. They will have a powerful
influence over people they meet, places they go, the colleges they attend,
future work environments they will work in. The possible places of their influence is endless. Eighty years from now, if we were to
look back on your child’s life, the people we would be talking about who had
the most influence on his or her life would be you, the parents. While I strongly believe in the LOFT
and the ministries at FUMC Plant City, I also know that you, the parents, will
have the greatest impact of your child’s faith.
With
the knowledge that your teen will make some kind of impact on the world,
whether positive or negative, I would like to thank you, praise you and also
challenge you. First thank you for
being the incredible parent you are.
Thank you for getting up early on a Saturday to attend your child’s event,
being a chauffeur everyday of the week, providing for your child, being there
when your child has had a bad day and everything else you do. You are amazing! I praise you for the effort you put
into your child’s life. Everything
you do, say and teach your child will stick with them for the rest of their
lives, even if they will not admit it.
Lastly,
I would like to challenge you. Are
you being the parent that God has called you to be? Look up Deuteronomy
6:4-9. Do you regularly pray with
your child? Do you regularly read
Scripture with your child? If not,
then make this Advent season a time when you will begin. Start small, maybe pray with your teen in the car as soon as
you pick them up from something.
Tell them you love them, care about them and want to pray with
them. They may just surprise you
with their response. Use the season
of Advent as a starting place by reading the Christmas story together. More than anything, just do something
because you will impact your child and your child will impact the world. Will it be for God?
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