Parenting According to Jesus

The first two Sundays in January at BCC we have taken life lessons from John 15 where Jesus speaks of Himself as the "Vine" (v.) and His disciples as the "branches" (v.5). With that metaphor in mind many meaningful lessons can be developed regarding what it really means to live for Jesus, or build life around Jesus as we have coined it.

Lessons like,

• 'Branches do not live on their own'
• 'Fruitful branches get pruned and become even more fruitful'
• 'Unfruitful branches get X-ed'
• 'Fruitful branches bring honor to the Gardener'
• 'Branches remain alive only as they remain attached to the Vine and fill themselves with the same substance as the Vine'

Many more lessons can be developed as well. But as I took a prayer walk last Thursday night one very important lesson occurred to me that I believe has a great application for parenting today.

While praying I walked past tree after tree thinking about Jesus' vine-branch metaphor trying to take in both the simplicity and profundity of the concept. At one point during my walk the simplicity of the metaphor stopped me in my tracks and I stood there gazing at one branch on one tree as the crisp winter air chilled my face. As I stood there I remembered that Jesus said this, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in (remains in, NIV) Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit..." (John 15:5).

Listen to the simplicity of this verse: Jesus says,
'If you are a branch and you remain attached to Me, You will bear fruit.'
'Also, if you are a branch and do not remain attached to Me, You will not bear fruit.'
And by implication He also says, 'If you are a branch and are attached to the vine and are still dying and not bearing fruit, then you are probably attached to the wrong vine'.

The parental application I took from this passage was so freeing to me that night. It was like the deepest lesson on faith development had been right there in front of me on a thousand different trees every day, and I was not aware of it. That night I learned that as a Christian-branch it is my primary responsibility to remain attached to the vine of Jesus at all times. It is not my responsibility to worry about the fruit that comes from my branches, when it might sprout, what it might look like or how it might compare to other branches around me. I must only worry about remaining attached to the vine of Jesus myself. And as I, day by day, fasten myself to Jesus the long-term result (as fruit is often slow-growing) will be new faith in my children. The faith of my children, Jesus says, will sprout from my deep and intentional attachment to Jesus.

I have met a number of individuals in my past who went about choosing a church based on the size of the youth group, the contemporariness of the worship, the youthfulness of the congregation or the charisma of the preacher. These are the things they truly believed would help sprout faith in their children long-term. Notice that each of the aforementioned things are completely outside of the person of the parent. When I hear things like this from parents it is sort of the equivalent of them saying, "I know the leaves in my front yard are lying on the ground and the branch they were attached to is lying on the ground as well, but I think if I just add more sun, water and soil to the leaves they will grow again."

Well I don't care how much sun, water or soil you add to a detached leaf, it will never grow! What that leaf really needs is a healthy attachment to a branch (a parent) who is strongly attached to a Vine (Jesus). That, says Jesus, is what produces fruit.

The promise of John 15:5 is quite remarkable too: "If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit" (NIV).

Parents, if we desire that our children build their lives around Jesus then the number one thing we can do, and the only thing we really have the power to do, is remain strongly attached to the vine of Jesus ourselves. The fruit, Jesus says, is up to God. That is such a relief!

Keep building!

90 Day Spiritual Resolutions: A great way to build life around Jesus more intentionally in 2011

Since 2011 rolled in I have asked a number of people if they have made any spiritual resolutions this year. One guy told me he was trying to rest more in the Spirit by allowing the Spirit to give him words to speak when speaking with people. Another lady had a number of prayers as resolutions: peace, healing (she had cancer), staying focused, etc.. Another guy said he was just trying to take it a day at a time.

So how about you? Have you made any spiritual resolutions this year?

Inspired by my church and my wife my 2 spiritual resolutions are the following:

1. Read through the Pentateuch (first 5 books of OT) in 90 days. I will start a new bible reading challenge on day 91, 181, etc. I am basically committing myself to reading God's word every day. For those of you not in the habit of daily bible reading I highly recommend a 90 day challenge. A 90 day challenge is easier to commit to than a whole year for sure. And just like working out, it is those first 3 months or so that are the most difficult. For the first 3 months you don't see many results, the routine is awkward, and it is painful almost to the point of not being worth it. Once you pass 90 days (or thereabout), however, working out becomes more enjoyable because you begin to see results. Working out has become a regular routine at this point and the callouses on your hands and feet have healed and hardened to make working out enjoyable again. To find a list of 7 possible 90-day bible reading challenges and one 1-year bible reading plan you can go to http://www.njmissions.com/.
2. Less face to computer time, more face to face time. As a church leader I know that the less I am actually with people the less effective I will be as a leader. I do not have any research to back up what I just said but common sense tells me this is true. For this reason I want to spend only the morning hours, say 9-12 or 1pm, on the computer. The rest of my day, in general, I want to spend connecting with people. I will need help with this resolution for sure. Reading the bible every day is already a habit for me. Limitting my face to computer time, however, will take work. I think it will probably be most effective to make this a 90-day challenge as well. Perhaps if I work hard for 90 days to stick to this ratio of face-computer, face-face time then on day 91 it will be habitual for me.

I believe spiritual resolutions, particularly 90-day spiritual resolutions, can be a great way to build your life around Jesus at the start of a new year. The practice of spiritual disciplines is essential for every Christian and a 90-day challenge can give you the impetus to get started on some disciplines you know you have needed to do but haven't done yet. Keep in mind that the fruit of regular spiritual disciplines is not always seen immediately. Fruit takes time to grow. Give it your all for 90 days and then gauge what fruit God has produced in you.

What spiritual resolutions have you made for 2011? 

Who have you told about your spiritual resolutions that can hold you accountable?

Would you be willing to share your spiritual resolutions here to inspire and motivate others?

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" (Galatians 6:9).