Hope with Grace – Part Thirteen
Maureen and I love grandparenting.
One of the reasons that we grandparents have such a strong emotional connection with these new births is the wide gulf between us of age and experience.
We have some idea of the many things that will enter these young lives. We know that they will experience pain and disappointment as they grow; because we have experienced those things. We know something of the joy and excitement ahead of them; because that has been the story of our own lives. There’s also a desire within us that they might have less pain than us and more joy than us, but also a realisation that this is a vain and wrong hope.
Our prayer must always be, “Lord bring into our grandchildren’s lives, all that is necessary to cause them to be responsible and responsive disciples of Jesus Christ. May they know great hope through great grace.”
There are some special ways of inputting into the lives of our grandchildren.
We must pray for them. We may be far away from them sometimes, but prayer is effective no matter the distance.
We must tell them stories… I don’t just mean read them story books. We must tell them stories of the greatness of God; how Christ has changed our lives forever; how the God of the universe cares for them and wants to redeem them to Himself.
We must be good role models for them. Godly grandparents can be living models of His love, gentleness and compassion, symbols of His faithfulness, examples of His goodness. And we must continually witness to the grace of God which enables us to live Godly lives. It is our desire as grandparents that we will faithfully model for our children and our grandchildren how to live lives of faith, hope and love. We want to be able to provide some stability and security in a world of rapid change and bewildering complexities: including, hopefully, the security of believing that a good marriage can last a lifetime and only be interrupted by death.
We must be wise listeners and disciplers. Research shows that the majority of children identify their grandparents as the people they would consult in times of trouble or important decision making. Oh, that we will be sensitive to their situations and wise in our responses and advice.
Again, my application is obvious. Each day, as educators, we are temporary parents and grandparents to hundreds of young people. My four principles apply equally to them as to our family members. As we interact with our young people; we must love them as we would our family.
Desiring to be people of Christ-like influence together..
Blessings,
Brian