We are working hard to pass our faith on to our kids as I know any of you parents are. Some of you have adult kids and they have made their decisions either for our joy or for our heartache. In my reading lately, I read Acts 2, specifically Acts 2:14-28, and I was struck by a few phrases that made me think about how my kids think about Jesus now and how I want them to think about Him. Give that section or better yet the whole chapter a quick read.
My kids are young so things are very straightforward for them and I hope in some ways they never lose that. In Acts 2:24 (ESV) it says “God raised him (Jesus) up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” My son gets this statement as clear as day. Jesus is bigger and stronger than anything and He was too powerful for even death to hold him. My son gets that concept all day long. He understands the full gospel that Jesus died for his sins, and rose from the dead, and that he has to believe in that to live with Jesus forever. But in his kid mind one of the most important things is that Jesus would protect him from “bad guys” or that Jesus in general is out there in His strength stopping “bad guys” right and left like a holy superhero. We remind our son that we are all bad guys sometimes and that’s why Jesus came, to change bad guys into Jesus followers so that we can be covered over by Jesus’ goodness in God’s sight. Though I don’t think that 100% computes for my son I think he gets it in the basics.
But as I look at Acts 2:28 (ESV) where it says “ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” I see that my kids still have a ways to go in the growth of their faith. This verse is a quote of Psalm 16 which is also well worth a read. This whole section in Acts is a record of a sermon the apostle Peter preached. I know that my kids still often get their “gladness” from toys or fun or praise from a job well done. They are still very early on in learning to find their full joy in Jesus their Lord. But in every judgment of another person we always need to turn the lens on ourselves, yes even when we correct or teach our kids…. Ugh… It is zero fun sometimes to make sure everything I am teaching my kids that I am also living out!
When I start to then look at myself this is what comes out. Am I letting good or bad work circumstances change my gladness over God’s presence, am I even taking the time to pursue God Himself, am I being quiet enough to hear Him, and am I taking time to savor His presence? These are the questions that start rolling around in my heart. I both pass and fail regularly. As I consider a new year I do not make resolutions but I do try to set or reset my mindset. Is the simple but real presence of God enough to make me “full of gladness?” Not for it to just be something that I hope gets better this year but to exclaim that it is true? My hope is that for every day God’s presence is not enough to fill me with gladness that there are two days that it does. Aside from hope I am setting my mind in this new year not just to “try” but to commit to it being true that I am full of gladness with God’s presence. I want to daily remember that He is with me and that there is not a single thing better than that! We all hope that “things” go better for us in the new year but I am committing my mind to be set not on fixing any of those “things” but on the presence of God with me. I will work on “things” and then be fully aware that my savior is there with me when I do. God bless each of you first and foremost with His presence and your commitment to be glad in it this new year!
- Will Regier