Children are a gift from God. As Kingdom citizens, we are called to recognize that children belong to Him. Parents are given the amazing responsibility of caring for this gift, but also the wonderful privilege of enjoying the gift. Because children belong to God and are given by grace as gifts to parents, it is only proper that children be dedicated back to Him.
Baby dedication is very interesting. The focus is on the children, yet all the work and responsibility fall on others. If you noticed, the vows that were spoken were from the parents, grandparents, and church family. The babies did absolutely nothing! Baby dedication is about the baby, but in reality it is a commitment by everyone involved (that’s you) to the children saying, “We will be Kingdom parents”. As we have learned over the past years, Kingdom parenting is more than just biological children; Kingdom parenting is for those we influence, those we care for, and those the Lord puts in our path.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Kingdom parenting is hard; you invest your time, sacrifice your own comforts and everything in between, with no guarantee of success. With the goal that those you Kingdom parent will be better than you, this is an upside-down assignment. The world is defensive; protect your job at all cost, don’t let others get the upper hand. Kingdom parenting is about raising others up so that they can be all that God has called them to be! A saying at LifeSpring that Auntie Pat always reminds us of is this: “Let our (older generation’s) ceiling be their (younger generation’s) floor”.
Some days, it feels like nothing is happening. Are the children learning anything? Why do they keep making the same mistakes? Am I doing something wrong? I just want to encourage the LifeSpring family; it is God’s job to grow, it is our job to steward and be obedient. As I wrestled with my own parenting, the Lord showed me a glimmer of hope:
Mercy started crying in her bed to the point where I went into her room to hold her and comfort her. She told me, “Daddy, I am scared. I had a nightmare. Can you pray for me”? It was just a moment, but the Lord caught my attention. Mercy was scared and she knew the solution was prayer. I don’t think she can eloquently explain the theology and workings of the power of prayer – but she knew, that in her time of need that it was prayer that would help.
Kingdom parenting is hard. We don’t know if anything is sticking. But little by little, inch by inch, God is growing their hearts.
We are so proud of the six new baby dedications at LifeSpring. Let us be a Kingdom family that Kingdom parents them (and the world) to know and love Christ.