My Letter to My Kids Part 2

This is part 2 of a sermon I gave recently...

  

        It’s a pretty big risk as a parent to raise our kids to be Christ-followers. It runs counter to our instinct of protecting our children. If we’re honest, reading the New Testament can be a pretty big shock. Jesus and the epistle writers make some pretty challenging statements about what following God will mean for us. One of the biggest challenges is our gospel reading today. (Matthew 6:24-34) As adults, we have to be the responsible ones. We make sure everyone else eats and has the material things they need. Not only that, but we do our very best to make sure our kids are ready to take over those responsibilities for themselves. Sometimes all of parenting can feel like it’s preparation for the day when our kids will feed and clothe themselves. And secretly we worry that they won’t be able to.

          In the face of all that hustle and bustle, responsibility and worry, Jesus tells us to stop. It’s really counter-intuitive: You just focus on God and he’ll take care of the rest. And instead of just politely saying he plans to take care of us, he calls us out: either you are devoted to me and money is nothing to you, or you are devoted to money and I am nothing to you. You can choose what you pursue, but you have to make a choice. You can’t serve us both.

          And in God’s typical “foolish wisdom” it really makes sense, because while I don’t want my kids to ever want for anything. I know that if I send my kids in pursuit of a financially independent lifestyle chances are that no amount of money will ever satisfy them. They will always need more. Money never makes anyone happy. And if I’m honest, those other dreams I have for my boys don’t really fulfill the goal of happiness either. No matter how much education they receive, their knowledge alone can’t give them true happiness and there will be times when the people who love them the most let them down or cause them pain. And now the picture is looking pretty grim. What meaningful life advice can I give them?

To be continued...