HOUSE OF ROBERTS BLOG

One thing I have observed in my years of motherhood is how often and how easy it is to delegate the discipleship of my own children. It’s so easy to do for a number of reasons: I am tired, I am busy, I feel unqualified, someone could do it better than me, and the list goes on and on. However, it’s become very clear and apparent to me through the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that God has asked and purposed me as the mom (dad too) to do this first and foremost before anyone else gets a chance to do it. A couple of thoughts on this:

1. You can’t take them where you haven’t gone. Man, this convicts and holds me accountable to keep growing, learning, and becoming more like Jesus every day. In order for me to be able to teach my kids how to be like Christ, I MYSELF have to become more like Him. In order for me to teach them forgiveness, I myself have to learn how to forgive. In order for me to teach them humility, I myself have to learn to be humble. In order for me to teach them how to fear the Lord, I myself have to learn how to fear Him. So much in life is caught more than it is taught. There is an osmosis process that happens with the people you spend the most time with- for the good or the bad. An authority only comes from the areas of our life that we have gained God's revelation and are then living out. I can see in my kids’ lives all the God parts of me that I am truly living out because by spending time with me they too are becoming that.
   
2. Discipleship requires time. Man o man does it. It’s the part of love that is LONG SUFFERING and requires sacrifice. It won’t just happen overnight or even in one glorious God moment. It’s the small, every day, consistent, seemingly insignificant moments in the morning wake-up conversations, dinner time chats, car rides home, on a walk to the mailbox to get the mail moments where you are present with them sharing your thoughts and heart with each other on simple things. The moments where their friend hurt their feelings, or they didn’t get the position they wanted on their team and you have time and energy to sit and be with them, teaching and bringing hope and perspective back to their hearts. It’s not convenient, it requires you to say no to other things, and from the world perspective you could be doing better, more productive, more lucrative things with your time, but think about this. Who or what is getting those moments? Is their nanny getting those moments, is their coach getting those moments, is their youth leader getting those moments, are their devices getting those moments, or are they alone to themselves in those moments? Someone or something is shaping our kids in these moments. Listen to me, it’s meant to be us! God meant for the God inside of us to be the God inside of them and this only happens with TIME.
3. It’s not about perfection. I think for a lot of us discipleship seems intimidating. Like what would even say to them? How do we even do this? So we don’t. The devil loves this! One of the things the Lord has taught me is to make His presence comfortable to them. When I say this I mean, bring Him up as often as possible. I know for some of us who grew up in the faith we cringe and we roll our eyes at this thought because our parents did that and it was obnoxious or they did it in a way that was shameful, hurtful, and condemning. For the latter one, I am sorry that happened and that’s totally not the way or the spirit of what I am talking about, but the “obnoxious way” I am okay with. My parents were these parents everything came back to Jesus and the word of God. EVERYTHING! When I was young and did not get it yet I rolled my eyes but let me tell you now me and my two brothers thank God this is who my parents were. They were creating a God-centered way of thinking in us. Teaching us to refer to the Word when confused, pray when we were hurting, ask God what He thought about the show we were watching, or how about starting our day with prayer and worship to start our days in the right order. What was obnoxious then I am DEEPLY grateful for now, so don’t let their eye rolls scare you, BE OBNOXIOUS! Start with praying on the way to school, or sharing with them one thing you got out of your bible reading, or worship in the mornings with them, or get in the habit of learning a scripture together. It’s not about perfection it’s about planting seeds of God in their hearts little by little and trusting God to water them.

I am praying for us all this week that we will get a deeper conviction to become the main people who disciple our kids. That we would lean into God deeper and take our kids along with us. That we would say no to more commitments to have more time and energy for our family and that we wouldn’t disqualify ourselves from being the greatest influence in our kid’s lives. Praying the Holy Spirit will give us a strategy from heaven to shape our homes into a little more of what looks like Him, In Jesus' name Amen!