Today is…

a great day to give a gift to our children.

“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”  1 Chronicles 28:9 NLT

In order to know someone intimately, it is necessary to spend considerable time with that person, talking and listening.

We give our children life through the grace of God. This act should never be taken lightly. Our ability to create life is a gift from God, and that makes the children born as a result of that gift, a gift as well. Our responsibility as parents does not end when the child is born.  In fact, as we all should know, that responsibility is just beginning. We are responsible for clothing, feeding and teaching our children. And of course, as parents of our children, we want them to listen to us, follow our instructions, and adhere to our rules and regulations.

We are also responsible for sharing with them the gift of intimacy with God through Jesus Christ. Sharing that gift is the most important thing that we can ever do for our children. In order to do that, it is important to have such a relationship with God ourselves so there is never any question where the guidance we give them, and the morality we try to instill in them, comes from.

In order to fully accept and appreciate this gift we are trying to give them, they must be able to clearly see the positive impact that our own intimacy with God has had on our lives, or else the message we want them to receive will have no impact.

We must teach them from the day they are born, and much of our instruction needs to be in the form of a living example of how the gift of intimacy with God makes us happier, healthier, kinder, gentler and more loving people.

If we want the very best of everything for our children, then we must begin with the very best gift we can give them. Of all the things we could possibly give them, the gift of an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the best gift we could ever give.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson