What Do You Want For Your Children?

Being a parent is an awesome responsibility.  Just the fact that God has entrusted me with something so precious just blows me away.  And not just one, but seven of his most precious little miracles.  From the first time you even know you are expecting you start to wonder (at least I did) what they are going to look like or be like, or what they will grow up to be. 

At one time in my life if you would have asked me what I wanted for my children in their lives the answer might have been , "I want them to be happy." or "I want them to be successful." or "I never want them to worry about money." or "I want them to be well educated."  You get the idea.  Over time my thinking has drastically changed and even over recent events in my life, I have been really thinking about this question, "What do you want for your children?"

The problem with things like money, success, education, social status, and "happiness" is that these are all wordly things.  You might look successful, be educated, have a lot of friends but is that really a measure of success.  Colossians 3:2 tells us, "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things."  Those things that matter here on earth don't make a bit of difference in eternity.  You hear the phrase "money can't buy happiness" and in life you see how true that is.  People look to find their happiness in temporary things like cars, money, a new house.  But true happiness cannot be achieved through those things.  Matthew 6: 19-24
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and man”


What I want for my children is this.  I want them to," Love the Lord their God with all their heart and their soul and their mind and their strength.  And to, "Love their neighbor as their self." (Luke 10:27)  I want them to put their faith in God not man. (scripture reference psalm 146:3)  I want my children to live the life God has called them to do whatever it may be.  I want them to have a personal relationship with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I want them to know that even though happiness is fleeting, true joy comes from the Lord.  I want them to know that while all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, all they have to do is ask and they will be forgiven. 


This is just a bit of insight as to what has been going on in my mind lately as far as the importance of what I am teaching my children.  Through my thought processes I have also been questioning myself and whether or not I am modeling things that are important in front of my children.  I believe that I am leading the life God has called me for (believe me I never could have come up with this on my own), but never perfectly, and often I fail.  But, I have faith that God will use me, even through all my mistakes to further His Kingdom through these children He has entrusted me with.

Okay, done rambling for now.  Christian says this is taking forever and he needs my attention now!