Do What You're Told

I’ve been in the business of raising children since 1989.  Actually, it was 1989 when I started raising my own children.  I had been raising the children of others since 1983 when I graduated from college and started my career as a teacher and school principal.  One of the great joys of interacting with children is when they actually do what they are told.

 

The roles of adult and parent are full of challenges and difficulties.  Teaching children to respond with immediate obedience is one of the most important yet one of the most elusive pursuits.

 

Through the years, I’ve learned a lot about myself and my relationship to God through raising children.  I have glimpsed into the depth of God’s love for me when I consider how much I love my children.  I’ve realized that God indeed wants the best for me when I see what I want for my children.  I have recognized that I don’t understand God’s perspective when I try to tell my children that there are things I see that they don’t.

 

And I’ve learned the value of doing what you are told.

 

It’s interesting how the issue of immediate obedience is important to us as we parent, but not nearly as crucial as we follow God.  We find ourselves saying to our children, “I’m not going to tell you again” but read the same passages in our Bibles over and over without a change in the way we live.

 

For me, more times than not, I find myself in the Lord’s presence dealing with the same issues again and again.  What would it be like if I just listened to what He said?  What would happen if I did what I was told?