Since I had to have knee surgery this week and couldn’t get around to interview and type, it seemed like a great time to ask Rev. Mark Vincent, Pastor of Clarke-Venable Baptist Church and President of the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention, to write for the Decatur Community News. It is short but dripping with wisdom. Thank you, Bro. Mark!
All along our journey timely moments happen that can become incredible opportunities to teach a lesson about life. I had heard people talk about teachable moments but I didn’t think much about the principle of that subject until babies interrupted our peaceful life. My wife and I looked at each other at times in utter bewilderment about how we were going to raise children and keep our sanity.
It didn’t take us long to realize that our sweet precious children were rebellious, self-centered, and at times could be downright mean. We didn’t teach our children to lie but they did. We didn’t teach our children to be selfish but they were. We didn’t teach our children to pout when they didn’t get their way but they did. They are human and suffer from the human condition called sin. They are just like their parents. They have a sin problem like their parents and all parents. That’s when we made two significant decisions.
The decisions we made were: We want to do what God wants us to do and we want to enjoy our children. We encountered a passage of scripture from the Bible that says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These Words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when your lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)
Sometimes people look for random circumstances to appear in order to know what God wants them to do. Sometimes we are hoping for instructions from God to blast out of a blazing bush. The best way I have found to know what God wants us to do is to listen to His word. His instructions are very simple and exceedingly clear. Think for a moment about the instructions He gave in the verses above. Love God and tell your children about it. I understand those simple instructions but obeying them means that I must adjust my life to do it. The problem is not that I do not know what God wants me to do. The problem is that I know exactly what God wants me to do.
Teachable moments orchestrated by God come and are excellent opportunities to talk to your children about what God is teaching you about His love, His character, what He likes, what He does not like, and what He is like. If you want to enjoy your children begin a journey of following the Lord today. You will be glad you did. It’s never too late to begin telling your children about the love of God. Tell them about how God solved the sin problem on the cross. Tell them from your heart.
Live for Jesus! He’s coming soon!
