“A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children …” Proverbs 13:22a KJV
I know as mothers we each desire to raise our children well. But, in reality, we are human and we will make mistakes. Not one of us is perfect. You have made mistakes. I have made mistakes. We all have made mistakes. We all have done something … or many things … that we regret or will regret. Things that we wish that we could go back and change. But, unfortunately, those things are in our past. There is no changing them.
There is something that we can do with our past though … we can turn it over to Jesus. We can go to Him and tell Him where we have failed and ask Him to forgive us … and He will.
Then, looking forward, we must ask God to show us what ways that we can reflect Him and His Word into the lives of our children, our children’s children (our grandchildren), and the children for generations to come. The interesting thing about reflection is that it only reflects what is there.
So, what qualities do we need in our lives to be able to
reflect Christ to our children and grandchildren?
Prayer —
- Prayer is a powerful tool of the Christian that can break barriers that we cannot break.
- You never know how powerful prayer is until you pray.
- We cannot do anything in our own strength. We cannot change. We cannot heal. But we do have a God who can. John 5:30a “I can of mine own self do nothing …” How many times have we told ourselves that “WE can do this!”? But we cannot! Only GOD can!
- There are going to be things in our lives and our children’s lives and our grandchildren’s lives that look impossible to change for the better … but they can … with God! Matthew 19:26b “…With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
You will never know how powerful PRAYER is … until you PRAY.
God’s Word –
- What kind of personal devotions do you have?
- Yes, we may have small children, but we must take time for our own spiritual growth. We cannot help someone else grow if we are not growing.
- Not only that but God’s Word is just that God speaking to us. So, when we need guidance and answers to life’s questions, where are we to get them? Well, as Christians, it should be from God’s Word. Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Lover of the body of Christ (the church) –
- We show love best by actions. The phrase “actions speak louder than words” is so true. What are we showing our children?
- Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.”
- If we make excuses for not attending church, our children will learn to make excuses for not attending church. This is a dangerous roller-coaster to be on!
Unconditional Love –
- Sometimes our children will do some very hurtful (or embarrassing) things to us. But we must ALWAYS love as Jesus would … and the only way that we can do that is if He is living inside of us. Jesus’ love NEVER fails … I Corinthians 13:8a “Charity [love] never faileth.”
We must ALWAYS love as Jesus would.
Grace –
- Grace is defined as “God’s unmerited (unearned) favor.”
- God bestowed His grace upon us at Calvary. Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Let us show His grace to our children. Let us show them favor even when it is unearned.
Forgiveness –
- We must set the example of forgiving others … Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
- Bitterness is a hard thing to swallow and if left, it will destroy not only you but all those around you.
Peace –
- Only God can give us true peace. John 14:27a “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you …”
- If we want peace in our homes, we are going to have to seek that peace from above.
Past –
- Put your past behind you, mommas! Don’t keep dredging it up. The ugliness of it does not get any prettier the more that we wallow in it.
- The Bible says to admit that we have sinned (confess that sin to God) and God will forgive us. I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Hope –
- Psalm 42:11 “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? HOPE thou IN GOD: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
- God can restore! God can heal! Where there is life, there is hope. May we find our HOPE in HIM!
- Romans 5:5a “And hope maketh not ashamed …”
Where there is life, there is hope. NEVER, ever give up on your children, mommas!
Is our reflection perfect? Are we perfect mommas now? No. But, God only requires us to be obedient to Him and He will take care of the rest. So, momma, are you willing to be obedient to Him?
Remember that it does not matter what your past has been. God can forgive you if you confess and repent of those sins to Him.
He has a greater plan now for you … Jeremiah 29:11, 13 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end … And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Let’s go searching for Him, mommas, so that we can be reflecting Christ in our homes!