make a difference

“Go and make disciples of all nations…teach them to obey everything I have commanded you…” Matthew 28:18-20

As a mother, I know how hectic life is, especially on Sundays and Wednesdays. Rushing to get the family to church and church events sometimes proves to be more frustrating than uplifting. And as busy mothers, I’m sure we all say the same thing on the way home from church…”what did you learn today?”

I was convicted this week when I realized that some moms actually take this a step further. They actually hear what their children say and then follow up with something like, “Well, what are you going to do about it?” They encourage their children to put feet to their faith.

Discipleship. It’s our job – our mission. We are told in the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, but that begins in our own home and then our community before we branch out to the world. How can we disciple our children if we don’t’ encourage them to use the gifts and the knowledge that God is instilling in them – through us as well as through Sunday school teachers, RA and GA leaders, and others?

The Bible says that unless we become like little children we cannot enter the kingdom of God. Children get excited about what God is doing. Their hearts are stirred by stories of needy and hungry people all over the world. And right here in our city. And they want to do something.

How often do we get bogged down by the daily drudgeries of life and school and housework and don’t take time to do what David pleaded with God to do – “restore to me the joy of my salvation.” If we look to our kids we will see that joy. They see a hungry person and they want to feed him. They see a child with no shoes and they want to give them their own. They hear of a friend that is sick and they immediately stop to pray for them. Isn’t that what Jesus meant when he said we need to become like them? To act on what we see and hear. To, as the GA Pledge urges, “live a missions lifestyle.”

Consider this: every 3.5 seconds a person somewhere in the world dies from hunger. Every 8 seconds, a child dies from drinking dirty water. When I shared this information with my group of GA’s, they wanted to do something. We held a walk-a-thon to raise money to feed the hungry in our own city. One of the girls in our group was moved to act. Encouraged and supported by her parents, she single handedly raised over $150. It is apparent that her parents are actively discipling her. Encouraging her. Living out the great commission in their very home. We are told to train our children in the way that they should go. It is mothers and fathers like this that are making a difference in not only the next generation, but in the very kingdom of God.

Next time you hear something that shakes you, do something. Involve your children. Talk to them about it. Make a difference.