Two little boys, around four to five years of age, were praying in church. With an angelic face one prayed, “Dear Lord, please let Mommy have a Happy Mother’s Day. Amen.” The other one covered his eyes with his hands and prayed, “Lord, please don’t let Mom know it was me that painted the cat.”
We may chuckle, but I am sure we can all relate in one way or another: living as good, upright Christians or struggling with some foolishness or sin we committed and do not want to be found out.
The heroes of the faith—Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rahab, David, and others mentioned in Hebrews 11—were creations conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5) and all had their sin-filled moments. Despite their shortcomings, though, they had faith.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for … All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth … Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:1-2, 13, 16 NIV)
January 2019 marked the 19th anniversary of my mother being called to the victory of eternal life! As we mourned the sudden loss of her physical presence, many people who knew her or worked with her shared beautiful memories and thoughts about her. Many even commented on her faith in Jesus. From these words an outsider might have gathered that my mother was a good person. Yes, she was a good person, but she was still imperfect and very much a sinner like anyone else—and she knew it.
As I reflected on the thoughts, memories, and comments, it brought to mind that my mom was like the Hebrews 11 heroes of the faith. Mom had an intimate relationship with her Heavenly Father. She loved Him and she knew of His love for her. She knew He created her and that she could come to Him, her Abba Father, with her deepest needs and darkest sins. Mom knew Jesus. She knew and understood the redeeming, sacrificial love of her Lord and Savior. She knew the sanctifying nature of the Holy Spirit.
As a child, I often witnessed her kneeling at her bedside confidently talking to God. She knew she was His child. She knew this place was not her home, and she longed for heaven, her forever home.
At the time of mom’s passing, our children were twelve and eight years old. Having gone through parenting classes (Growing Kids God’s Way by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo), my husband and I were already dedicated to trying to “grow our kids God’s way.” We, especially, wanted the legacy of Mom’s faith to be passed on to them—to learn, to know, to witness, to live. We knew that legacy needed to be the ultimate focus in our home.
Of course, as sinful humans the atmosphere of our home was far from how we really wanted it. Nevertheless, our children were regularly reminded that they were loved with the everlasting love of God, they were not their own, that their bodies were the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that they were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19). Before leaving our home for activities, they were often prayed over and reminded of whose they were, God’s child, a son or daughter of the KING of Kings, and, therefore, they were expected to act, speak, and live in such a way as to glorify their Heavenly Father.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 was a frequent reference in our home. I hope other parents find it helpful as they pass on their legacy of faith to their children.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Dear Heavenly Father, please help Christian parents to realize the most important thing that they can do for their children is to impress upon them their love for You and Your commandments to love You with all their heart, soul, and strength. Help parents resist the worldly temptations that may keep them from passing on a legacy of faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, for generations to come. In Jesus’s name, Amen.