What About My Children?

One question I have struggled with over the past year is this: If I am called to pursue God as my main goal in life (as is every believer), what about my children? What do I do about these wonderful, amazing, needy, overwhelming people that God has given me to care for? They have been my primary excuse for not pursuing God in the past. Recently, He gave me the bottom-line answer that I've been needing. And it came, no surprise, through my favorite devotional author.

"Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships?" (My heart-ears pricked up when I read this.)

"Most of us will desert Him with this excuse -- 'Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can't go any further' (see Luke 9:57-62)." (That's pretty much what I used to say.)

" 'Then,' Jesus says, 'you cannot be my disciple' (see Luke 14:26-33)." (Ugh. Okay, I'm listening!)

"If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God" (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, 3-12).

Can it be any clearer? My life must display complete surrender to God. Surrender even of the consequences to my children if I really give myself to knowing God. What about them? God will care for them. Far better, by the way, than I can, with all my worries, frustrations, and hangups.

I am not implying here any neglect of our families. If we begin to abandon our families, we are no longer living in obedience to Christ, but in slavery to selfishness. (I actually know of a mom who left her family in pursuit of her "calling," but she was deceived and destroyed her family.) As we pursue God, we will grow in respect for our husbands, love for our children, and service to our families. But we must do it out of devotion and obedience to Christ, not primarily because they need us.

And in the end we will find that they have benefited from our wholehearted love for Jesus far more than we could have imagined.