Master, Mission & Mate

I was listening to a Christian talk radio program the other day and the guest was talking about the key roles a parent plays in their children's lives. He listed these three "M" words and though I can't recall exactly what he said about them, I liked the three words and will give you my take on them.

Master: Our kids need to know they have one. They were created by a Creator, lost to loser, then saved by a Savior. They exist because their Master gave them life and redeemed that life to spend all eternity with Him. They need to know they can not serve money, houses, careers, other people, etc.; they must serve the One who gave them life and who calls them home.

Mission: Our kids need to know they have a purpose and their purposes need to be His purposes and not their own. Anything else they pursue is just a waste of time. Once they understand they are His, they are able to go about His work. God is not here to bless THEIR plans; rather He wants to accomplish His plans THROUGH them. The younger they hear and understand this the wiser they will become. At some point people finally do "get it" and see that chasing their dreams has all been for nothing. It's then they wish they could go back and re-do their lives. May this NOT be the case for our children. Help them right now understand their life has real purpose.

Mate: How many of our parents prayed for our future mates? How many spoke with us about the characteristics and qualities we should look for in a friend and future mate? Not money or education, status or even physical attraction, but godliness and faithful obedience. We need to be very active in this process. I've seen way too many couple end up on the rocks because they were first attracted to each other for shallow, surface reasons. We need to make sure we are not setting our children up for future disaster by rewarding and modeling shallow relationships. One thing you can do is point out the positive qualities of your mate, things like prayer time, honesty, gentleness, self-sacrifice, integrity, compassion, etc.

IN SUMMARY: We need to make sure our children understand there is a Master and their lives should be joyfully devoted to His work and not they own selfish desires; and that their time on this earth, should they choose to get married, will be best spent with a mate who has a fearful devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ. So, take inventory in these three areas and see where you are lacking as a parent; then focus in on that area and get busy! Time is short and right now your words and actions carry weight, use them to mold your kids. God did not give us our children for a time, but for eternity; let's parent like we believe that!