Your Greatest Mission Field

As some of you may already know, I am a father of 4 children. 3 are from a previous marriage, 1 is my stepson. I have to admit, it has been very difficult to blend the 2 families. My daughters from my previous marriage are resentful of my stepson getting to live with me all the time, and my stepson is resentful of the girls when they visit cause they take away the attention from him. I lived with my girls for years. They know how I expect them to behave, and (for the most part) do what i say. I would have never dreamed of how hard it would be to forge a relationship with a child that is not my own. I am used to raising girls first of all, and having another male in the house is a constant battle for dominance in the family. Every word spoken is a challenge for superiority. I am just as bull-headed as he is. I don’t back down. I can let my temper get the best of me. I don’t think every time how the way I react or handle a situation is going to affect our future relationship. I am learning as I go. I am making strides, but I still fail sometimes. I want to show him how a man should act, but I am still learning too.

I think that our homes is where we should be fine tuning our lives. Home is where we should walk in forgiveness, love, and respect. I think it is the most neglected. Sometimes it’s easier to forgive someone we don’t have to see everyday, but for some reason, it’s seems so much harder sometimes to forgive the one we see everyday. The one we said that we would love, cherish, and be with forever. We want to reach the world but we can’t reach our own families. Through years of neglect we  ignore the mission field in our own homes and hope that the “youth pastor can get through to them”. You may feel that you have blown it with your children. I declare to you that today is the first day of the rest of your life and your family. Today is the day to make a step in the right direction. Today is the day to love those you have ignored. Do not quit if your efforts are resisted at first. What took years to make will not always be fixed in a day, but today is your chance to be the Jesus that you want your kids to serve. Today is the day to face hypocracy and start living the model for your children to follow. They may think you are being fake, but this is an opportunity for you share the grace of God with them. Make them understand what I am trying to convey to you ( and me) that today is a new day and your commitment to being the child of God that you want to be. Over time you may gain their respect and even if you don’t, you can say that you did everything you could to turn the tide. There is nothing worse than living a life of regret. Don’t do it. Make the choice today to reach your loved ones for Christ. It is never time wasted.