Serving God In The New Way

When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Romans 7:5-6

WE LOVE IT when our kids make us look good by what they do. We’d much rather see our children’s names on the honor roll than on the detention list. But when we expect ongoing good behavior based solely on their knowledge of and determination to obey the rules, we set up our children for failure and despair. If they must constantly strive to live up to a set of moral expectations or social constructs, however formally or informally they are communicated, life will be drudgery. Absolute success will be an impossibility. Peace and joy will be elusive. And at some point, our children will likely give up.

So what we want is not kids who live by the rules, but kids who live in the Spirit. We want our kids to experience the “but now” of Romans 7:6. We want them to experience a miracle accomplished by a work of God. At the moment of conversion, we want God to implant in our children a desire to please him. We want our kids to experience the joy and freedom of living for Christ out of a deep inner desire put there by God himself. Our attempts at imposing rules can’t accomplish this. Only God can.

This “new way of living in the Spirit” doesn’t become a reality in an instant, but over a lifetime. So what we’re looking for in our kids is not perfection, but growth. We don’t expect them to “arrive” at any point, but we pray that they will continually be moving forward in genuine service and love for God.

Thank you, Lord, for not leaving ________ on her own, with no power to change. You have lifted the burden of creating change off ________’s shoulders. You keep meeting ________ with transforming grace. Free ________ from dutiful obedience imposed from the outside. Empower ________ to say no to sinful desires by the power of your indwelling Spirit. Impart to ________ a love for holiness.