The Wading Pool

In 1 Kings, the first thing that the great king Solomon has to deal with after becoming king is all the men that his dad, King David, did not deal with.  One of these was his brother, Adonijah, who tried to ascend to the throne by force, not by appointment.  And of course theres the whole “issue” David had with the ladies, which would become much worse for Sol.

It all got me thinking:  what is my son going to have to deal with in his life that I didn’t deal with myself?  Are there areas of my life that I’ve not dealt with that I’m going to say, in my old age, “Here ya go kid…win one for the ol’ Gipper.”

Because I don’t want to be that guy.  I don’t want to be the man who hands a mess to my son and says “Sorry I didn’t clean all this up for you.”  He’ll have enough of his own junk to deal with besides having to handle mine as well.

No, I don’t want to be that guy.  Not for my son, or for my girls.  I want to be the kind of dad that leaves a legacy of grace and forgiveness, a legacy of the truths of the Gospel, a legacy of love and mercy.  The world is full of the other guy nowadays.  I want to be different.

So, what then?  How do I do that?  One, I need to deal with the sins in my life.  I lay them down at the foot of the cross and know that Jesus dealt with the punishment for them, and their power was broken at Calvary.  And I don’t pick them up again, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Two, I need to pour into my kids the truth of Scripture, and the gospel of Grace.  I love them.  I correct where they go astray.  Like my pastor said yesterday, kids are arrows in our hands, and they’ll go where we point them.  God, may I have the grace to launch them straight at You!

Three, and this goes before all the rest, I need to pray.  I ask for forgiveness (from God and from them) when I fail.  I ask for wisdom to live my life, and to guide them in theirs.  I ask for God’s mercy and protection to cover them always (even before they get here!).  I ask that their hearts would be drawn to the Father by the Holy Spirit, because all my strivings are useless without Him!

And I need to live.  Everyday, I need to live and love and learn, and by God’s grace, I’ll defeat the mess and hand them something better.  God willing!