As parents, my wife and I are still smack dab in the middle of our parenting journey. With one child away at college, three still at home, and two new foster kids, we are currently approaching parenting from a variety of different angles… and we’re loving it.
As with any family, we deal with misbehavior problems on a regular basis. There’s always plenty of coaching, correcting, and instructing our children towards godliness. However, we realize that our kids’ behavioral problems are simply a symptom of a much greater problem – a heart problem.
The ultimate answer/solution to their issues is not our correction, our discipline, or our clever strategies (Yes, all of those things may help point them to the answer, but they are not the answer.)
The answer is found in The Gospel.
We are reminded in Romans 1:16 that “the gospel of Christ… is the power of God.”
MORE THAN OUR KIDS NEED US, THEY NEED HIM…
Our children need us to bring them up in the ‘nurture and admonition of the Lord’, but even more than they need us, they ultimately need Him. We are simply one of His main mouthpieces to speak truth into their lives. This means that I need to regularly be using their misbehavior and sin as a way to show them their need for a Savior.
One of our primary jobs as a parent is to work ourself out of a job by teaching our children how to lean on their Heavenly Father, not for just 18 years, but for a lifetime. May we be reminded that this starting point for our children is found in them personally understanding and accepting the power of the gospel through salvation. This ought to be one of our primary parenting focuses long before our children leave home.
Until they are saved, all of our coaching and correcting is designed to help us point them to their desperate need of the gospel for heart-change. After they are saved, all of our coaching and correcting is designed to help them live out the power of the gospel for life-change.
NO GOSPEL… NO CHANGE…
The answer is ‘the gospel’ because no true change happens without it.
“There are only two things that have ever changed a human heart… The fall of man. And the grace of God.” – Larry Crabb
In fact, the gospel is the answer to ALL of the world’s problems. (Just look around at the world right now… That’s a lot of problems!)
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You may be facing a problem in your marriage – the answer is found in the gospel.
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You may be dealing with a child who has a hard heart – the answer is the gospel.
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You may have a trial you’re facing that has you feeling defeated – the answer is the gospel.
You may think it’s a ‘child’ problem or a ‘spouse’ problem. You may think it’s a ‘lack of money’ problem. You may think that it’s a ‘circumstance’ problem. But the reality is that it’s a ‘sinful heart’ problem – a problem that can only be solved through the transforming power of the gospel at work. Jesus (His death, burial, and resurrection) is the gospel. And Jesus changes things.
WHY AREN’T PEOPLE CHANGING?…
Have you ever wondered, “Why aren’t people changing?” Well, the honest answer is that either:
- They are lost and have not yet experienced the life-changing power of the gospel. (Romans 1:16) Or…
- They are saved, but are not letting the gospel change and transform them into the life-changing image of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
- The gospel changes the way a person thinks.
- The gospel changes the way a person lives.
- The gospel changes the way a person treats other people.
- The gospel changes the way a person spends their money.
- The gospel changes the way a person parents.
- The gospel changes the way a person works on the job.
- The gospel changes the way a person lives both in public and in private.
The gospel is the power of God at work, not just to change a person’s eternal destiny, but to change the way a person lives daily life, view everyday circumstances, and prioritizes eternity’s values.
THE ONE QUESTION THAT REALLY MATTERS…
The big question we ought to be asking ourselves is this – “Is the gospel changing me?”
What is the most recent thing you can identify about yourself that the power of the gospel has changed about you in your character, your beliefs, or your viewpoints? If you’re having a hard time thinking of anything, that’s an indication of a problem. (But thankfully, not a problem too big for the gospel to change!)
Do you truly believe that there’s no problem too great to be solved by the gospel of Jesus Christ? (God does – Luke 18:25-27.)
I’m not sure which one of the world’s many problems you’re facing today, but I’m sure you do. I’ve got some situations/problems in my own life that I’m realizing only the gospel has the power to change (in fact, they were the ‘seed thought’ for this article).
Question – How can you allow the power of the gospel to be the answer you need and the answer that God wants it to be in your life?
The gospel, when properly applied to one’s heart and life, is the most transformative power in all of the world!
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16
