My Obligation (Guest Blog)

I asked Lindsay Evatt, my RLF and fellow blogger, if she would be willing to write a guest post showing her heart towards Culture Questions. Lindsay is an amazing, Godly mother of three little ones and wife to one Wes Evatt. :) She loves the Lord and is always looking for ways to serve Him. I encourage you to check out her blog and follow their journey as they seek God's direction in becoming foreign missionaries. Along with the fun challenges that come along with the young Mommy Days.

Please Welcome Lindsay Evatt to Beautiful Mommy Feet!

I’ve heard a comedian once joke, “We went to church EVERY time the doors were open! Even if we claimed to be sick, it just didn’t work. My dad would ask, “Well, have you thrown up?” If our answer was no…”Well, good! I don’t think you’re really all that sick then. Get in the car.” If our answer was yes… “Well, good! I think you’re probably feeling much better now! Get in the car.”

Sometimes I felt like that growing up. I had no clue that there were people in the world that only came to church on Christmas and Easter, furthermore; not at all! Regardless of if your parents had you in church as a wee one or, I think the battle is not whether they get you there every Sunday, but why they place importance on getting you there.

As a parent, I view life entirely different from my “growing up years” of being “forced” to go to church. God entrusted me with children, therefore I will do my utmost to raise them in His ways! They are an inheritance; therefore I will do my absolute best to train them in the ways they should go. (Proverbs 22:6). This doesn’t include my idea of what I “think” they should do, but raising them according to scripture. I took an oath before God and man on the days that I dedicated each of my children back to the Lord. Many don’t take this as seriously as they should, but my husband and I really did. We were so blessed to have children, but they were the Lord’s heritage (Psalm 127:3) so we had to do all we could to raise them according to His standards. We had vowed it; therefore it was now our obligation. My parents had an obligation as well, to me and before God, to uphold. It was not just about doing what was the standard in our community, but it was about giving me absolutely, EVERY opportunity to be introduced and instructed about the Savior of this world and their lives. This was not a substitute for learning at home either, but being in the church setting further introduced me to others, in many different walks of life and levels of their relationships with Christ, which gave me vast knowledge of how the world worked as a whole.. They knew that being in this world and not of it would be a challenge, so why not immerse me into church where “real” people are struggling with “real” issues.

I look at it all this way, I’m not going to give my children too many options on things that are heavily important for them to deeply understand. Sometimes our children need options and to make their own choices, but other times it is our distinct post, to give them one standard on life issues that are most important. If my 2 year old son is playing in a busy street, I’m not going to give him the choice of whether he would like to continue playing in the street or if he would like to join the rest of the family in the safety of the yard. I value his life too much! I will jump in front of a car if I have to, in order to make sure he is safe! (And rest assured that once we both made it to safety, he would be scolded in a way that would make him clearly remember the danger of playing in the street!) How much more should we value the spiritual lives of our children? Sometimes, options are acceptable, but when it comes to giving them opportunities to learn more about the Savior of this world and my very soul, how could I neglect them the opportunity to be in the house of the Lord? It’s my obligation to have them there! It’s also my obligation to teach them day and night, at home, through my attitude, my acts of love towards them, and my reflection of my own relationship with Christ! I’m not perfect, neither is any church that we could ever attend, but it’s an opportunity for my child to be ministered to; I can’t forsake this opportunity! Nor can I forsake this obligation!

This Post is being Linked with : The Way I See It Wednesdays:

http://adventuresintheordinary.com/

and Proverbs 31 Thursdays
http://www.raisingmightyarrows.com/2011/08/god-created-sx-part-2-proverbs-31.html