Ambassadors at Home

Grandparents like to tell their story. They like to recount the events of their childhood; compare and contrast then and now. They like to share where they started and marvel at where they ended up. The mistakes and sins of their past have been wiped clean and they have a new life and they give God the credit for the changes he brought about so that they could have a great story to tell. This is part of that special bond between and grandparent and grandchild… the sharing of the story.

Parents are not nearly as eager to tell their story to their kids. Somehow we think that they need to see us as more than a real person who is without struggles and failures. It seems like we don’t want them to know our bad choices for fear that they will run right out and duplicate them. We bury our sin in the hopes that they never find out, lest they lose respect for us and complicate the already difficult process of raising them. Often our shame and not forgiving ourselves keeps us from telling our story to them.

There is, however, a story that parents MUST learn to tell their children… even if it involves revealing some of the flaws in our character. In order to teach our kids the way that they should go, we have to be able to tell them our story of walking with God, which may involve a time when we were the “prodigal in a distant land.” Children learn in a variety of ways, but a sure winner is from hearing the story. They can hear the story of how God protected Daniel from the lions or David from the Giant, but that is a story from a distant time and place. Hearing how God protected Dad from an unwise decision so that He could teach him a valuable lesson is much more real to them. They can hear how Delilah was a bad decision for Samson, but how much more beneficial to learn how a broken heart turned into a Divine rescue from an unhealthy relationship for Mom.

Make sure that your journey with Jesus isn’t personal and private, but learn to tell what He is doing in your life and your heart so that your kids haven’t a doubt that God is alive, in you, and working through you. They need to know that the good they see in you is a result of God at work. They need to know that the things that aren’t so good are areas where God is still teaching you. Let’s face it! They are not ever going to think you are a perfect human so stop trying to present yourself that way and allow them to watch your journey and learn. Use the wisdom you find in talking with God to humbly share what your kids need to hear, then trust Him to use your story to magnify the God they seek.

Remember…

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”

2 Corinthians 5:20