As He Goes
Next month at this time, my oldest son (18 years old) will be in college. He will be sitting under the teaching of people I do not know, learning from them I don't know what, reading books that I have not read, and hanging out with people for whom I know nothing of their backgrounds or current trajectory.
Now people who have sent their children off to school may have had similar trepidation, and you and your child have survived. And I have faith in the Lord that we too will survive this transition. Nonetheless, it is new to his mother and me. This is our firstborn, a gift from God to us when we were young and inexperienced as parents. I pray that we have done all that we should have and could have done to prepare him for life as an adult. Have we modeled for him a life of devotion to and reliance upon the Lord our God? Have we modeled before him the way to treat other people? How to stand for your convictions? Have we modeled marriage that looks like the Gospel? So many things . . .
As he goes to school now, on his own, a verse comes to mind -- "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 4)
I pray that he will be anchored in the truth -- in the Living Word (Jesus Christ) and in the written word (the Bible). May he weigh everything he reads and hears from fallible men against the infallible, inerrant Word of God. May he keep Jesus Christ ever before him, following Him wherever He leads, serving Him with a heart of joy and with excellence. May he put on the whole armor of God, daily, and stand against the attacks of the enemy, knowing that greater is He who is in him, than he who is in the world. May he love his neighbor, as himself, and treat everyone with respect and kindness -- even those with whom he disagrees. May he remember his roots - the son of a simple Baptist preacher and a hard-working, ever-loving mother.
Live for the glory of God, son. We love you.
Now people who have sent their children off to school may have had similar trepidation, and you and your child have survived. And I have faith in the Lord that we too will survive this transition. Nonetheless, it is new to his mother and me. This is our firstborn, a gift from God to us when we were young and inexperienced as parents. I pray that we have done all that we should have and could have done to prepare him for life as an adult. Have we modeled for him a life of devotion to and reliance upon the Lord our God? Have we modeled before him the way to treat other people? How to stand for your convictions? Have we modeled marriage that looks like the Gospel? So many things . . .
As he goes to school now, on his own, a verse comes to mind -- "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 4)
I pray that he will be anchored in the truth -- in the Living Word (Jesus Christ) and in the written word (the Bible). May he weigh everything he reads and hears from fallible men against the infallible, inerrant Word of God. May he keep Jesus Christ ever before him, following Him wherever He leads, serving Him with a heart of joy and with excellence. May he put on the whole armor of God, daily, and stand against the attacks of the enemy, knowing that greater is He who is in him, than he who is in the world. May he love his neighbor, as himself, and treat everyone with respect and kindness -- even those with whom he disagrees. May he remember his roots - the son of a simple Baptist preacher and a hard-working, ever-loving mother.
Live for the glory of God, son. We love you.
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