“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless— but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow— if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.”
Job 31:16-23
Today I walked into my living room with a freshly prepared PB&J for Gabriel (my three-year-old son) only to find Neriyah (my one-year-old daughter) standing in my shoes which were left side by side next to the table. She had toddled up while I was in the kitchen and carefully balanced herself as she placed each foot into the footstep of her father. As I looked down I couldn't help but laugh as she greeted me with her joyful smile of all of two teeth. something struck me... Where I walk and how I do so is far more important than I could ever realize. For the brief years that my children are excited to put their feet in my shoes I have an opportunity to show them a life well lived, relationships well loved, and priorities well set. It is in my attitudes and actions now that, not only my future relationship with them, but their future relationships with God and others will be formed.
What shoes will our children place their feet into? Not only our children but anyone who follows us, looks up to us, respects us. What example are we living for them right now. Job, in his interactions with his friends kept coming back to the relationship between God's character and his own, which seemed to be at odds with the reality he was living out. In reading this I couldn't help but think of legacy. His name was well respected, and assuming he was truthful in his speech, well deserved. Jesus seems to describe these very actions as the ideal citizen of the kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.
We live in a world that is all about the immediate, putting trust in poisonous wells. Children suffer because their parents cant seem to "grow up". I know there are times when my own children do. I am convinced that my daily submission to Jesus will have drastic affects on the lives of my children and others whom I influence. May we not put our trust in failing, immediate things, but in God who will shape for us a legacy and a good name.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
