The Bible tells the story of a young Jewish girl who was
taken to the palace of King Xerxes to be groomed to become His queen. It doesn’t
tell us how long she lived as Queen in the palace or if she ever even had
children, but Queen Esther had people. The entire nation of her heritage was
facing certain annihilation and she, as a result of her appointment as Queen,
had a chance to save them. It would involve a great risk and the possibility of
failure. It could actually cost her her life. In the end, Queen Esther is the
heroine of the story and lives are saved because of her act of bravery. The
thing that powered her courage was her faith in her God. She knew that He was
in control and could use her to save a nation. She also knew that she might die
in the process, but her life was a small price to pay for the lives and legacy
of God’s people.
So how can we bring the story of Esther into our home and
our parenting? Esther understood that she was sitting where she was, at the
side of the greatest King of her lifetime, for a greater purpose than wearing
fine gowns, hosting gala events, owning jewels that could pay off the national
debt, and eating the finest foods available without having to ever enter the
kitchen. Doesn’t sound like a bad gig to me! But…Have you ever considered that
you being the parent of your children isn’t about you at all, but about your
child? You are one piece of their legacy that will shape them into the person
that God planned for them to become. But, you must have the courage to give it
all up for that to happen.
I can almost hear you saying, “You don’t even know me! I
would take a bullet for my kids!” Those are the split second decisions and
reactions we have when danger suddenly comes out of nowhere. But what about the
daily decisions you are making that are impacting their future? The way you
spend your money. The way you spend your evenings. The words you choose. The
discipline you impose. The example you set. Can you step outside of your window
and look in at the way you live long enough to objectively determine if you are
the Queen who is happy to sit on the throne or do you have the courage to give
it all up for the benefit of your kids?
I do not stand in judgment or believe for one minute that I
have this thing down. Too many of you know my grown children who can rat me out
without blinking an eye. What I do know, however, is that Godly parenting takes
intentionality and courage…
… to stand up to the norms of our society and raise children
that will know their Creator and value His plan for them as something to strive
for and make the commitment to be in the
Word and worship with your local congregation to show them that you value His
plan for your life, too
… to help them know there is a difference between right and
wrong when our culture says it is up to the individual and help them find what God’s Word has to say about it without
diminishing the value of all God’s children, whom He dearly loves
… to teach them that loving God and others is the greatest
thing they will ever accomplish, not attaining a colossal salary and then demonstrate that you believe it by
giving to those less fortunate or refusing a promotion that keeps you from the
time it takes to teach them what love looks like
… to teach them that caring for your body is a sacred
privilege and showing them what that
looks like
… to explain how moral values will be the compass that gets
them to where God wants them and then let
that compass direct your path.
Queen Esther had a choice. She could let the chips fall
where they may and hope that her King never discovered her nationality and go
on with her royal lifestyle. She did not make that choice. Instead she chose to
take courage and risk losing it all for the greater good. Your family is your
greater good. If you are not sacrificing for them, you haven’t yet discovered
the joy and peace of using your role as their parent “for such a time as this” to
shape their hearts and minds to follow the One who holds eternity in the palm
of His hand.
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen
Since what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
Perhaps remembering this verse will help you to have the
courage you need to look to the future as you shape the lives of your children.
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