Hillary Clinton famously said "It takes a village to raise a child." As conservatives, we decry such a notion, loathing the idea of any secularized institution having a hand in shaping the heart, soul, and mind of our precious, impressionable children. Unfortunately, I (and perhaps others) have assumed that the rightful opposite of that statement is that Christian parents are to bear the sole responsibility of raising their children. God has been very creatively and deliberately showing me how wrong I am in that assumption.
As a naturally independent person with specific beliefs and opinions on the rearing of my child, I have eagerly embraced the responsibility of raising my daughter in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Conroy and I are intentional about regular Bible devotional time and prayer with our daughter. We expose her regularly and deliberately to children's Bible songs and Bible media. Both Conroy and I were led to the Lord at our parents' knees. Both of us were raised in pastors' homes and have Bible college degrees. So naturally, I assumed and expected that most likely we would be the ones to lead our daughter to the saving knowledge of Christ.
The church is dear to us and a regular part of our lives. We firmly believe in the ministry of the local church and its important place in our daughter's live and in our lives. But still, in my mind, I saw it as secondary to our home discipleship. Then when Jacie was attending 2 &3 year old Sunday School, a shift occurred in my thinking.
In questioning her about her lesson after church as normal one Sunday, Jacie replied with the Gospel message -- the simple story of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection to take the punishment for our sins. For the first time, in her own words, I heard her articulate the Gospel. Tears rushed to my eyes and the realization flooded through me that the faithfulness of her Sunday School teacher brought these eternal truths to bear on her conscience for the first time.
Fast forward to this year. Jacie is 5, now approaching her 6th birthday next month. My prayers for her salvation have intensified over the last year as I have seen her understanding grow and her knowledge deepen. Also, I was saved at the age of 5 1/2 years, the truth dawning on me as the culmination of Bible teaching and exposure was ignited by the Holy Spirit in my heart . So I had spent the year asking the Lord for the salvation of my daughter at an early age, as well.
Jacie attended kindergarten at our church's Christian school in the mornings for the last few months of school while I filled in at the high school in a long-term sub position. I would pick her up in the late morning, and we would spend the rest of the day together -- either "homeschooling" or out and about. One evening during our regular devotional time together, the topic of the children's Bible lesson we were reading related to salvation. As I occasionally do, I asked Jacie if she had ever received Christ. Usually her answers were evasive or she became silly and restless which I always took as the Holy Spirit's leading that she was not yet ready. However, on this night, her answer was very serious and very specific. She began to tell me how her kindergarten teacher at school presented the Gospel to the class during Bible time and encouraged them to pray to receive Christ if they hadn't already done so. Jacie went on to share that she had prayed to receive Christ as her Savior in that moment. I probed and questioned a little further as Jacie continued to express her understanding of the the Gospel and her faith in Christ.
The wonder hasn't left me yet. God is so good to answer my specific prayer regarding Jacie coming to know Jesus as Savior at a young age! Further, once again He sovereignly chose to use her Christian school teacher as the instrument of her salvation, once again, instead of her parents.
And so, I assert, with wonder and praise, that it takes the Church to raise a child in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The body of Christ is meant to work together in sync for the procreation of the Kingdom. How blessed are we to be a part of His body and how true it is that we are meant to need each other!
2 comments:
I am so elated and blessed by this! As you already know, I am currently involved in a few of the girls lives, that I met when I became a youth leader at our church. As their mentor, I find it equally important to get to know the parent/parents. It's my belief that it's necessary for them to be able to trust me and understand that my desire is help and not replace them. I shared a situation with someone, whom I believed to be understanding, my concerns about a mom and the damage that was being caused to the child; to my dismay, she responded by saying to me that she wouldn't want anyone telling her how to parent her child.Needless to say, I was not expecting that response. When a child is dedicated to the Lord, we as a church stand in agreement to help in the raising of that child. While I fully believe that what I do, is my calling/purpose from God, I found myself second guessing what I know God called me to do. I am not, at all confused about my role and that's why it's not enough for me to have a parent entrust their children to me simply because they met me at the church. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for your comment, Roberta! I agree that we as a church do stand together in the rearing of our (collective) children. Your mentoring role is so vital and I know God is using you greatly!
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