Thursday, December 11, 2014

December 12, 2014

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

Jesus, the Perfect Child was well-grounded and well-rounded. We have already discussed those two aspects of His life and we have held them up as goals for our own children as they develop.

Today, I want to call your attention to a third aspect of Jesus' development as a child, He was unbounded.

What do I mean by unbounded?

Joseph and Mary set up boundaries around Jesus but didn't set up obstacles or barriers in front of Him! Jesus' parents were wise enough to know He belonged to God more than He belonged to them. They knew He belonged to the ages  and not for those years.

Joseph and Mary keep Jesus unbounded by not pressuring Him into a career of their choice or pushing onto a path that pleased them. Instead, they steered Him toward God's Word, toward God's Will and toward His own areas of giftedness. They guided Jesus toward the discovery of His Master and  toward His mission and as He made those discoveries His life took on new meaning. They made sure Jesus life would be defined by nothing less than God's vision for His life.

That is a great model of parenting for those who have small children today. Establish boundaries around them and enforce those boundaries with loving guidance and discipline, but don't put unnecessary barriers in front of them. 

Resist the temptation to relive your dreams or desires through your children. Refuse to superimpose your dreams for your children upon them, but commit to helping them discover God's vision for their life.

Just like Jesus, your child's calling should be decided for him on the basis of God's Word, God's will and the gifts God has invested in his life. 

That is parenting that shapes unbounded children. The only limitations on their lives are those placed by their faith, their commitment, their talents, their gifts, their personal discipline, their motivation, the people they bring around themselves  and their opportunities.

An unbounded child is like a blank check that you have created and nurtured and then given to God to write in the amount.

At FredWes, we want to develop unbounded children! We want to raise up world-changing champions for God who trust Him use their lives "exceedingly abundantly more than they can ask or think".

Jesus grew to greatness by being well-grounded, well-rounded and unbounded. God help us to develop Christ-like kids!












December 11, 2014

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

Jesus, the Perfect Child, was well grounded in His faith and beliefs!

At FredWes, we believe in well-grounded kids! We will do the best we can to work with our parents in developing well-grounded youngsters!

Also, we desire well-rounded kids!

Jesus was well-rounded! This verse declares that He grew intellectually, He grew physically, He grew spiritually and He developed socially!

It is not easy for one man to change the world, even if He is the Son of God! For Jesus to have the impact on history that He has He needed to be well-rounded. We know He was intellectually developed because at age 12 He was found in the synagogue debating with Rabbis and Scholars. There are too many examples of His spirituality to list in this short article, take His teachings for starters. And, He had to be physically strong to withstand 40 days of fasting! We also know He was a carpenter. Being a carpenter was physically demanding job.

At FredWes, we want our kids to get the best education available to them. It is important they develop their intellect. It is also important for our kids to be as physically strong and healthy. We encourage our kids to be involved in some sort of athletic activity. Team sports are helpful in teaching many good life lessons. But, we want our kids to put God first and place a priority on their spiritual commitment. Sports are important but always secondary to spiritual commitments. Why would you put temporary involvements above those things that are eternal? Finally, we want our kids to be socially healthy! Faith is best experienced in relationship with others and faith is effectively shared within trusted relationships.

Our goal at FredWes: kids that are well-grounded and well-rounded, just like Jesus!