Day 29 of 365...
Genesis 48-50
Key Passages/Thoughts:
Gen 48:15-16 - "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow to be numerous within the land."
Kids are a blessing not a curse. I know that sometimes kids may challenge that notion, but the reality is that they truly are a blessing. I learn more about God by being a parent than I ever learned by not being one. I finished up reading Genesis today (2 books down, 64 to go!). Throughout this book, I noticed how fathers bestowed blessings on their children. You don't really hear about that nowadays. You see these men of God (Abraham, Jacob, etc.) blessing their children with thoughtful words and inspirational promises. It got me to thinking about this question, "How do I bless my kids?"
The initial response to that question, if it were posed to someone, is to respond with the possessions they bless their kids with. I give my kids a roof over their head, clothes to wear, and food to eat. Another response might be that they shower their kids with love and affection. While these responses are important and necessary, I think the kind of blessing that is shown to us in the book of Genesis takes it several steps further. When I read the kind of blessing Jacob bestows on his children I see a different response to that question. The kind of blessing Jacob gives his children shows me two things. First of all, Jacob knows his kids, and I mean understands them (on a spiritual level) and recognizes their gifts and talents. This means that he is involved in their lives. He cares about what they care about and desires to know them better. The second thing I noticed is that the words Jacob speaks as a blessing have meaning and are well thought out. This wasn't some fortune cookie blessing. Jacob had a specific goal in mind when he spoke words over his sons. These were words that Jacob had thought through for quite some time, perhaps even years! The words that are spoken would remain with his sons for the rest of their lives, so they had impact!
As I look at my interaction with my children, I want my words to have eternal impact with them. I have a lot of improvement to make in this area. I want my kids to impact people for Christ...that is my goal as a parent. It is my job to prepare them to do that very thing. I want my words to be blessings and not curses. I realize that, at times, this is difficult to communicate when kids are sick and irritable or cranky. However, it is my job to navigate through those feelings and help my kids understand that we have a higher purpose in life. I want to be able to bestow a blessing on my kids that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The process for that begin now, though. I can't expect for them to receive those kinds of words if I'm not involved with their lives right now.
God grant me the wisdom to teach my kids what they need to learn. Give me the patience to train and discipline them. Help me make disciples of my kids, so they can impact this lost world for You!
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