Devotions Inspired By Beyond BlessedSample

PARENTING LIKE A STEWARD
by Zach Neese  

I remember that chilly winter morning almost 19 years ago— swaying in a hammock, transfixed by the perfect, sleep-pursed lips of the bundled baby who had effortlessly melted me. I held my newborn son in my hands, and I was in love. My heart felt like an overblown balloon! How could any more emotion fit inside of me? I was impossibly, inexplicably full! 

Could this be how God feels about me? Could His heart be bursting with love for me? Unbelievable! And if He loves me that much (John 3:16), it’s no wonder that He sent His Beloved Saving Son to rescue me and this little one in my arms. 

Then came a sobering realization: this newborn miracle was not really mine at all. This child belonged to God! I would love and father him for a time, but the God who imagined him, created him, and purchased him with blood would Father him forever. My son was a gift that I would eventually return to the Giver. I was holding in my arms a living “talent” for which I would one day give account (Matthew 25:14–19). 

We usually think of stewardship in terms of time, money, and talent, but relationships are the riches of heaven. 

And if children are the treasures of the Father’s house, then parenting is a powerful way God demonstrates His trust in us. He trusts us to steward our kids, and we have to trust Him to show us how. 

What does it mean to parent as a steward? It means that I father “my” children as though they are not my own—to prepare them to know, love, and follow their heavenly Father forever. 

Like shepherds tending our Master’s flock, we teach our children to know His voice by praying and listening with them. We help them tune their ears to the truth by reading the Bible with them. We teach them the boundaries of biblical morality by leading them to submit their opinions and wills to God’s opinion and will. And we protect them from the ever-present reality of wolves that want to prey upon them, use them, and consume them. 

All of this requires the commitment of our greatest resource—our lives. Like Jesus, we lay down our lives, comfort, and wills over and over again to bring the children He loves to the Father. That is what it means to parent like a steward. It means that I invest my heart in preparing my children’s hearts for God. 

So in days to come, when their Father calls, they will know His voice and run to Him.

PRAYER
God, thank You for the gift of my children. Help me, Father, to see them through Your eyes, to speak Your words to them, and to love them with Your heart. Please give me wisdom to steward their young lives today—to lead them in Your ways, help them hear Your voice, love Your presence, and cherish Your kingdom so they will follow You all the days of their lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.  

MEMORY VERSE
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. PSALM 24:1 (NLT)