This year, my mother-in-law's birthday fell on a Sunday. So, we set up a table of cupcakes for everyone to enjoy after worship. The plan was for our children to serve anyone who wanted a treat. When I finally made it outside, I didn't see my kids serving. Instead, I saw four younger children standing behind the table, with gloves on, carefully handing them out.
I thought that was a cute idea to ask them to help. But they weren't asked to help. They asked if they could help.
Sure, I bet the proximity to the sweets might have influenced their request. But that didn't take away from how they served. They smiled so much, were fully engaged and attentive to their job. I smiled when I heard them ask several people waiting off to the side if they wanted a cupcake. They wanted to make sure no one was missed.
Someone snapped a picture of them in action. Someone else said they looked like the adults who often do the same thing in our kitchen, serving joyfully and with a smile.
I couldn't help but think that our kids are mirrors. They are reflections of ourselves. Much of who they are and what they are becoming come from who we are and what we are becoming in front of them. My two older children always joke that their younger brother had different parents than they did. In some regards, they're right. We're not the same people we were when we first became parents.
And that's the point. The greatest bit of parenting advice I ever took to heart was this: You're not raising children. You have children. You're raising adults.
That is not just about parenting, but also discipleship. What kind of followers of Christ are we forming? Whether we realize it or not, someone is always learning from our tone, our postures, our willingness to serve, our joy, our impatience, our faith.
That's a reminder that we aren't just to tell the next generation what it means to follow Jesus. Let them see it in how you serve, how you love, how you notice people, how you show up when no one is assigning you the job. Because long after the cupcakes have been handed out, the memories of a life shaped by Christlike love will always remain.
Stay blessed...john
Comments