The Power of Options
Image credit: Jon Tyson, unsplash.com
As I was wrapping up the writing process, I began to seriously think through the dedication of my upcoming book, OVERCOME.
I felt a clear leading to dedicate this book to my two sons, Judah and Jesse.
Here’s a sneak peek…
OVERCOME DEDICATION.
I dedicate this book to our two sons, Judah and Jesse.
After your innocence has been challenged on all sides, may your purity remain.
Victory is your lot and freedom is your portion.
May you never forget that you live under the smile of heaven.
And may this promise become your reality:
“The pure in heart will see God.” -Jesus in Matthew 5:8
Image credit: Chelseaphillips.co
PURITY > INNOCENCE??
“Temptation is more of a test of your relationship with God than your discipline against sin.” -CHRIS HODGES
Early on as a parent, I thought my goal was to keep our family safe and our boys innocent.
When I say “innocent” I mean free from moral stain due to the exposure of inappropriate content (movies, music, etc.).
Protecting and prolonging the season of a child’s innocence is a worthy aim and admirable goal.
I believe most parents want to help keep their children away from negative influences (friends, entertainment, settings) for as long as they possibly can.
However, I’ve come to see that there is a much greater goal in parenting.
Parenting is not just about protecting our kids from EXPOSURE as much as it is about preparing them for FREEDOM.
-JOSHUA FINLEY
As much as I don’t want our boys to be faced with harmful influences or unnecessary temptation, I also realize that purity is much stronger than innocence.
Innocence is often the choosing of another, while purity is a personal decision, in the face of real options.
Adam & Eve got it wrong in the garden of Eden. They made the wrong choice. They ate from the wrong tree.
We all do this more than we like to admit.
But consider how God put the option of two trees in the garden, instead of removing all other options for His kids.
It would be impossible for Anna & I to keep our boys from being exposed to sinful options.
We have internet filters.
We comb through their phones.
We monitor their friends.
We regularly check in with them on all kinds of topics.
But at the end of the day, we have to trust the internal government of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives.
It’s a terrifying “trust fall” parents have to take.
Our children are not our own.
They are on loan from God, ultimately, they are His.
Our job as parents is to teach them how to recognize right from wrong, good from evil and win battles in the heat of temptation.
Teach them to make wise choices.
Coach them to choose good associations.
Help them learn from their mistakes.
“Religion: ‘I messed up; my Dad is going to kill me.’
Sonship: ‘I messed up; I need to call my Dad.’” -ANONYMOUS
Our goal is for them to grow in their understanding that grace is far more powerful than sin.
And above all, to know that their relationship with Jesus is not based on their performance, but His.
When we choose Jesus in the face of other options, the choosing is that much more meaningful.
WHAT’S AT STAKE IS BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.
Did you ever go walking through the woods with others, one after another, when all of a sudden the person in front is confronted by a small, bendable branch across the path?
That person starts to push the branch forward carefully so that they can walk by it.
Sometimes, they bend it in order to get and then release it, only to smack the next person in line.
That could happen simply because the person was careless. Then again, sometimes when I was growing up my siblings did that to me just because we loved to mess with each other!
The branch may have prickers on it too, or it may not, but the impact is felt by the next person in line.
Sometimes the person in front is careful and holds the branch up so the next person can get by easily.
It’s an even better practice, however, to cut that branch off!
“What gets healed in us doesn’t have to be handed down to them.” -STEVEN FURTICK
What gets healed in us won’t be handed down (generationally) through us.
When it comes to strongholds (mindsets empowered by lies), you have the power not only to defeat generation sin for yourself, but to break off the impure tendency for the sake of generations after you.
The decision to get on a road to recovery is a legacy decision.
The protecting of our purity is a gift we give to our posterity.
You have an opportunity to set in motion a current of purity that leaves an incredible spiritual heritage for those coming after you.
“What a person does in life becomes their history. What they set in motion for others becomes their legacy.” -PAUL COLE
As generations move through the forest of temptation, no matter what the people “up the line” from you have done, you have the opportunity to love the people “down the line” with your private decisions.
As you move forward on the path to victory, you are cutting the branches off for your children and the others that you influence. (pages 90-91, OVERCOME )
PASSIONS. POSSESSIONS. PRIDE.
“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.”
1 JOHN 2:16
Every generation has to learn to battle in these three arenas.
However, I personally believe that GenZ is up against a different level of onslaught.
And since they are uniquely bombarded on all sides, with endless options (potholes), the grace that is available to them is ridiculously customized and powerfully effective.
I also believe that their worship is that much richer as they choose Christ in the face of so many competing options.
Innocence is beautiful, yet purity may be even more powerful!
“Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”
-1 John 5:21
JOIN THE CONVERSATION. LEAVE A COMMENT.
What are some decisions you’ve made to empower your purity?
What are some generational branches you helped to break off in order to prevent from handing them down to future generations?
What is something you wish you knew at a younger age as it relates to honoring the internal government of the Holy Spirit?