Flawed Faith
“God, let my kids know You in a way that is not constrained by my flawed faith!”
That is the prayer overflowing from my heart in recent days as God gently but clearly reveals more and more within me that needs refining.
Every parent who is a Jesus follower likely knows some version of this plea. Every child who is a Jesus follower knows something of the inverse—the process of moving from an imparted faith to an infilled faith!
Research shows 81% of parents say their minor children share their faith, but only 64% of parents say the same of their adult children. There are obviously many factors involved and many different ways to think about this, but for our community this week, I want us to consider it in light of Proverbs 22:6, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Perhaps the most beautiful thing about the gift God has offered me is there is nothing I have done or can do to earn it. I don’t deserve it. I never have and I never will, and yet He has seen fit to grant it to me freely anyway. It is wholly mine and I am wholly His even though it is plain for everyone to see that my faith in Him is so very flawed. It is riddled with doubt and sin and imperfection, and yet He accepts me as His own.
As I consider this reality against the instruction of Proverbs 22:6, I am struck most by the critical need for Brooke and me to point our kids not to our own flawed faith but to the One who covers the gaps in our flawed faith!
It is so easy to fall into the trap of believing all will be well if we can just keep ourselves within that 64% of parents whose adult children claim the same faith. But my friend, your flawed faith is not what your children need. The flawed faith of your parents is not what you need!
If you were raised in a home that honored Jesus as Lord, you’ve been given an immensely valuable gift! Even so, the One who stands at the door and knocks offers you something so much more than your parent’s flawed faith. He offers you a personal relationship with Him, and He offers it knowing full well that your faith is or will be equally flawed.
It is really the whole point. None of us can meet the standard (Rom. 3:23). We all have flawed faith. As such, the noble goal of raising children who will follow Jesus all their days begins with an acknowledgment that they need more than my faith. They need an intimate and personal relationship with the One who created them and calls them His own!
My voice can point them to Him, but they ultimately need to know His voice.
Your instruction can guide them, but they ultimately need to surrender to His guidance.
Matthew 5:48 gives what is an impossible command if left to our own devices: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” None of us can meet that standard. It is why, while we should model godliness for our children, it is essential we are crystal clear with them that the way they should go is not simply one of replicating their parent’s flawed faith. The path from which they should not depart is the one that leads them personally to the foot of the cross!