When we talk about Kingdom Parenting we are trying to raise the huios (mature sons). Fully complete, lacking nothing. When we look at the ultimate mature son, Jesus Christ – we see a man who was raised and became a huios. He was one who did not just hear – He listened well and obeyed quickly.
When we talk about Kingdom Parenting – it is not just biological children, it is the people God puts before us and care for. A year and a half ago, my staff’s mother took me aside and thanked me. She said, “you are more than a boss to my daughter, you are like a father to her”. That day I realized Kingdom Parenting happens everywhere – not just at home.
As we look back at 2023, we see God’s hand revealing the mysteries of Kingdom Parenting.
Kingdom Parenting: Genuine Love for God
Throughout the year, I have realized that the number 1 assignment for Kingdom Parenting is for us to grow in our genuine love for God. To help others genuinely love God – we ourselves must genuinely love God.
Kingdom Parenting is Caught not Taught
When our children are involved in tithing, when our children come alongside us at the 415 food hub, when our children see us in worship, in prayer – they catch it. We don’t just tell them to do things, we bring them alongside and show them what to do.
Kingdom Parenting results in, “You look just like your Father”
But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be LIKE THEM, and so will all who trust in them.
Psalm 115:4–8
If you worship pleasure, your life will be about pleasure.
If you worship $, your life will be about $.
If you worship health, your life will be about health.
But the opposite is also true:
If you worship God, your life will be about the King, and you will look just like your Father.
Kingdom Parenting: Genuine Care for Others
The number 2 assignment for Kingdom Parenting is learning to genuinely care for others – not from a place of we “have to”, rather a place of “we get to”.
Kingdom Parenting screams, “Come As You Are”
In our focus of being Kingdom Parents, we sometimes forget about being a Kingdom Child. Every father is a son, every mother is a daughter, every parent is a child. Children are not perfect – but neither are parents. At Lifespring we must always remember that grace received, must always be grace given.
I love LifeSpring. I hear from others how much they love LifeSpring. When I speak to other people, not many talk kindly or build up their own church family. We have something amazing here. But we didn’t earn it and we don’t deserve it. You and I (and I know a lot of your dirt) are saved by grace. It would be selfish and dishonest to think otherwise.
Kingdom Parents accept the children entrusted to us: of any race, language, social status, and spiritual maturity. Come as you are. The Father loves you.
Kingdom Parenting reveals that Obedience is the Highest Form of Worship
When I think of Joseph & Mary – I wonder what Joseph went through when he found that his virgin wife was to be with child. The hurt, the pain, the devastation would be unbearable! He had every right to divorce her and move on with his life. Yet, when God came and guided Joseph, he obeyed.
The Bible does not say very much about Joseph, but two things are clear. First, the bible says that Joseph was a “good man”. Second, from Joseph’s actions we can see that Joseph was obedient to the guidance of God. Joseph was a “good man” and obedient that is all the Bible says about this man. Yet this man played a crucial role in the life of Jesus the Christ – he was his father.
I honestly still do not know exactly what Kingdom Parenting is. But I do sense we are a little bit closer to being Kingdom Parents today than we were 1 year ago. This was not an assignment just for 2023, it was an assignment in 2023 with no end date.
You become a parent the day you have a child, and from that day onwards, you are always a parent.
Let us thank the Lord for His assignment, for His provision, and for His faithfulness. Amen.
Purpose 2024: Patient Endurance… here we come!