“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”(Romans 8: 31-32, ESV)
Belonging is a big deal. No matter how much we try to deny it, we want to belong to something, someone, some place. We need to instill in our children, however, an understanding of where they belong and to whom they belong. You see, as hard as it is, we do not want our children to mistake this place for home. Because God has paid a very high price to have us as His own. We belong to Him. And that is where we find our security and our identity.
It’s okay to not belong here. It’s okay to look around this broken world and feel like we just don’t fit in here. We were never meant to fit in or belong in a fallen, sin-scarred world. We were created for more. We were created for Him. Our prayer for our children is that they would indeed belong, but not here. We want them to be okay walking this sod and being a little out of place knowing that, one day, they will be right where they are meant to be.
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35, ESV)
Our children do not have the luxury of being unaware of evil in the world. They see it all around them and they need to have hope for something more. It won’t take long for this world to beat up on them and try to break them. We need to make sure they know that there is a hope and a future for them. They do not need to live lives of quiet desperation. They have a Father who loves them. They have a Christ, a Messiah, a Savior who came for them and died for them – all so they could have a hope.
Jesus wants them to come to Him when they hunger for something more. When they thirst for peace in their lives, they can come to Him and He promises comfort and strength. He promises Himself. They do not have to worry or be in despair. They can live with an everlasting, abiding hope that Christ will come again and make all things new.
Written by Stacy Edwards
