Never Say No: Raising Big Picture KidsChikamu

A Purpose Emerges

I was a fan of Emerson before I was a follower of Jesus. But when I read Jesus’ words about being salt and light to others, I was struck by a similarity and one difference. Both taught us to live beyond the borders of self. Emerson emphasized “making some difference.” But Jesus went further to say we could intentionally change our surroundings for good. That light and salt are not neutral. The world will be better because we are here.

Jesus’s salt and light metaphor explains God’s parenting purpose for His own kids: to reflect God’s loving nature to others. We can take our place in His radical plan to restore creation. Does this mean we can adopt this same purpose for our own children, to help them find their unique roles in God’s courageous love story?

Before marriage, Jan and I considered ourselves edgy. When I proposed, I added this romantic disclaimer: “I can’t promise we won’t live in a VW bus under a bridge.” The fact that Jan said yes proved she had her own radical agenda. Our married mission statement was “To be used to the greatest extent for the greatest good, to burn out rather than rust out.” Not exactly a cozy motto to hang over the family fireplace, but it did kick our meandering parenthood in a certain direction. We gradually realized that our kids could be edgy too.

Jesus warned against parochial religion that plays it safe. So we did not want our kids cloistered in a religious tower trying to behave until heaven. We believed our children could play an important part in God’s redemptive plan to bring heaven to earth. We imagined them spiritually propelled into society, equipped with the realization that they could, in some way, transform it.

We believed that Jon and Tim’s unique gifts could best be discovered in the immensity of God’s purpose rather than improvising small, isolated stories all about themselves. This bigger story is not just about us, and it didn’t originate with us. It is best described in the familiar words “God so loved the world that He gave…” God loved us in that particular way. Authentic love not only feels deeply but also acts courageously and sacrificially. Love gives.