Raising the Church

“He must become more important while I become less important.” (John 3:30 NET)

I have been around long enough to watch three different generations of bible believing, faith functioning and God worshiping church goers. I have observed the generation before me, my contemporaries and the new generation.

I have found commonalities and differences among all three, nevertheless one commonality stands out to me. For the most part, we all toil incessantly to bring up the next generation. We strive to make significant investments of time by depositing prayer and words into our children’s spiritual account, with the hope that one day they will make withdrawals that will enhance their life experiences and will help them stand firm on a strong foundation of spiritual stability.

This endeavor is not without setbacks and moments of seemingly failed work. I have watched some of my contemporaries leave the Way and fall back to a life of pain and suffering because of it. But I have also watched the return of many and the fulfillment of their parents’ efforts and prayers after all.

The kicker is this, our function as the predecessors of the next Church generation is very much like John the Baptist’s. We must become less important and step back, so that Jesus can freely step in and the investment of His word can yield returns in our children’s lives. John the Baptist understood his role in the big picture; so must we understand our role in the big picture of our children’s lives.

Continue to toil, making deposits of truth and love in your child’s life, daily. And also allow God to become greater than you in your child’s life, daily. It’s okay for God to become more important than us in our children’s lives. It is, in fact, very ok. God is, after all, as much their Lifeline as He has been ours and He has not failed us. Trust Him.

By Carmen Tanski
blogger of life

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