The Main Thing

There is no greater joy and contentment in the life of a parent than when her child accepts Jesus as his or her savior. Steve and I felt this joy Sunday night as our firstborn child prayed to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I was honored to be able to lead him in the prayer that would forever change his life.
Nathan had talked about getting saved for a few weeks, but he had not come to the place of actually wanting to pray about it. His heart was moved during Vacation Bible School and then again at Winshape camp for kids. Steve and I had asked and answered questions for a long time before he came to the point where he was ready to take this all important step. We never pushed because we wanted his decision to be his brought about by the stirring of the Holy Spirit. We also wanted him to be sure of what he was doing since he is still relatively young at 7 years old. We talked with our pastor at church and when we got home, he surrendered his life to Jesus. Awesome!! I’m tearing up right now just thinking about it.
This decision in Nathan’s life made me realize even more than ever that out of all the things we do for our children, pointing them to Jesus is the single most important thing we can ever do. I am so glad that I was given the blessing of being his mother. I am so honored that God chose me for this task. It is such a huge responsibility but the reward is so great. We do so much for our children and we want them to succeed in every area of life. Many times though, other activities or sheer exhaustion crowd out teaching our children about Jesus at home and/or taking them to Sunday school and church where they learn more about Him. No other activity can ever compare to them learning the Word of God and learning what Jesus did for them, and it is worth every effort. The Bible challenges us, “How will they know unless they are told?”
I am so thankful for the move of the Holy Spirit in Nathan’s heart and his willingness to obey. I am thankful for a church where our children are given so many opportunities to hear about the love of Jesus. I am thankful for a student minister who works so hard so that our kids hear over and over about God’s love. I am thankful for a pastor who is approachable even to children and who takes the time to talk (and listen) to them. Our family is blessed to have the support we do in teaching our children about God. We know they share in our joy that our son is a new creation in Christ Jesus. I know God has great plans for Nathan, (Jeremiah 29:11) and I am so excited to see his new life in Christ begin to unfold.