Devotion Determines Direction

Introduction

As a parent your devotion does not just determine the trajectory of your spiritual life, it influences the spiritual trajectory of your children as well. While practicing the spiritual disciplines, and galvanizing your relationship with the Lord you are not only investing in your own walk with Christ, you are at the same time making an impression on those who are depending on you. Devotion, that is personal and private devotion to God and his will, not only shapes you personally but it leaves a mark on everyone whom you will encounter. Devotion is wholehearted commitment to God. It is loving the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul, and all thy mind. (Matthew 22:37) Devotion is committing to following the Lord through willful submission to what he has said. Devotion is making the pursuit of Christ the most important pursuit in our daily lives. This is the type of devotion that characterized the earthly parents of our Lord. Mary and Joseph were what we would call devout. Luke spends sufficient time describing Jesus conception and his early years. What we must take notice of however, is that in talking about the unborn Jesus and the boy Jesus, the lives of his earthly parents come into view. Their lives are of great importance because Jesus, the God-man, was born as a baby and was raised by Joseph and Mary. They served as exemplary parents, and it was their spiritual devotion that influenced the impressive 12 year old boy who left the teachers in the temple amazed and astounded.

The issue is that we tend to view our personal spiritual lives as separate and distinct from the lives of those we spend our time with. This is certainly not so, and if it had been so Paul would have never written to the church in Galatia that a little leaven, leavens the whole lump. (Galatians 5:9) The truth is much, not all, but much of what we learn of Jesus and religion especially in our formative years is caught and not taught. As children our best learning comes through imitation.

Ephesians 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

Discipleship in it’s purest form is about what we do. Disciples follow.

Luke 9:23 ESV

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Disciples lead

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Action defines us as disciples. We can’t truly be disciples without imitating Jesus. We can’t disciple other’s without giving them something to imitate. I’ve not experienced the inexplicable joy and burden of parenting but I do know one question that many parents are seeking the answer to, “what can I do to ensure that my child is successful?”

Well the term success is relative, and since I am speaking to Christians I am going to assume that by success you mean that you want your children to grow into Godly adults whose lives bear much spiritual fruit. If by successful you mean raising young men and women who represent Christ, their communities, and their parents well, then I believe Luke offers us some insight. The answer ends with fruitful and faithful children, but it begins with devoted and committed adults.

Dedication

These two verses construct a passage all by themselves. We find ourselves in a transition between two scenes. In the previous scene Joseph and Mary had completed the dedication of their baby boy, and by doing so witnessed the fulfillment of prophetic hopes. First was the man Simeon who’s life literally had been help up by the promise of salvation. Then there was the prophetess, Anna, who began to give thanks to God for the long awaited redeemer of Israel. It is stated in Luke 2:33 that Mary and Joseph marveled at what was said about their son. I can imagine the pride that they felt as they witnessed the response of these devout Jews to their son. He was not recognized as a Division-I college athlete, nor was he touted as the next nuclear biochemist, he was the Messiah. He was born that way, Joseph did not contribute one chromosome to his divine makeup, Jesus was who he was. This moment of astonishment was made possible by the dedication of Jesus parents to be where god would have them be. What amazing experiences have we missed out on because we failed to commit to God. Perhaps we have missed out on understanding the Lord’s will for our children because we had them in one place when the Lord expected them to be in another. Perhaps we have missed out on some of the joys of parenting because instead of following god’s will, we pursued our own. This moment of prophetic revelation was no coincidence. Mary and Joseph had traveled to the temple as a part of following the Law of Moses. God’s will had been revealed to Mary and Joseph by following God’s will. Jesus divine purpose was realized and acknowledged through the dedication of his parents. It is ironic how their commitment to following God’s plan allowed them to realize the plan God had for their son.

Often times we become so consumed with helping our children find their path or planning their paths for them that we get off course ourselves. If we want to raise Godly and faithful children we have to first set the example by showing them that it is the Lord who orders our steps. Being dedicated to the will of God puts us in position to better understand God’s will. As our children grow it’s important for us to commit to following God’s will for our own lives so that we may help our children understand his will for theirs.

Maturation

Next, we notice the process of maturation that happens to all of us. “And the child grew”. All children grow, but all children do not mature.We sometimes arrogantly assume that time will make us better, or wiser, as if time is our friend. Time is not our friend. Time is indifferent and so what we do with our time becomes the determinant.

Ephesians 5:16 ESV

16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

This passage is situated between two occasions in which people marveled at the boy jesus. One as an infant and the other as an adolescent. In the account prior to his Jesus was about 40 days old. In the account after this, Jesus was 12 years old. Verse 40 says that in between 40 days old and 12 years old Jesus grew. He didn’t just grow but he matured in a Godly way. We can make this inference based on the evidence we have of Jesus extraordinary display of wisdom in the temple at age 12. That word “grew” means increase. He experienced an increase in wisdom and spiritual insight that only comes through faithful family discipleship. The fact that this boy wonder was son to two very devout parents influenced his maturation, as he did not simply grow in physical stature but he grew in spiritual stature.

We have often told ourselves, “they will grow out of it”. What we really desire for them to do is to mature. That happens when they have

Characterization

Conclusion

Our devotion to Jesus is the most natural and practical form of discipleship that we can engage in.

Devotion is not a formula for success rather it is........ Discipleship is not about lists it is about love.