Chariot of Fire -2.6-

Chariot #2.6 - Who Has the Hearts of Your Children? - Part 2

Who has the hearts of your children? The answer is this: whoever they think offers the most hope. If you recall, in the previous Chariot article we discussed some of the dynamics of the human heart. (You may access all previous articles at www.spiritofelijah.com). As we considered how to prevent our children's veering from the ways of the Lord taught them when they are young, we noted the importance of understanding how God has made the heart to function. Three dynamics were presented from the scriptures:

1. All issues of life flow out of the condition of the heart.
2. Whatever one treasures, the heart will be focused there.
3. God made the human heart to hope and be full.

If we're to prevent the next generation from walking away from the faith and following after the world, we not only need to understand the dynamics of the heart, but also the dynamics of hope.

The dynamics of hope.

As one reads the letters of the apostles, one cannot help but notice the prominence of the concept of hope. We find there is a connection between hope and the essential qualities of Christian character. Notice the relation of hope to the qualities of faith, love, joy, and perseverance in the following passages of scripture.

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; (Colossians 1:3-6).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:3-9).

Insight #1: Hope gives birth to faith, love, joy, and perseverance.
Many verses of scripture illustrate the blessings which spring from the fountain of hope. This is a very important insight because of what results in the hearts of people when they are given hope. If our children are to walk with God and with us, they will need faith. Certainly we want them to love God and to love us. The apostle Paul in Galatians 5:6 wrote that faith works through love. When they love with God's kind of love, they will then know they have been loved by God. Knowing His love then produces a joy inexpressible. Additionally, hope produces endurance, since we eagerly wait for the things for which we hope (Romans 8:24-25).

These same qualities are needed in our children if they are to walk in a way that glorifies the Lord. They must come to know why following Christ and you offer the greatest hope for the present time as well as for their future. Teaching your children what they should and should not do is not enough. You must show them WHY—give them the hope of what you teach and live. If you are able to do this, you'll see these qualities of faith, love, joy, and perseverance grow in their hearts and lives.

Insight #2: Hope rises from promises given by someone who has reasonable power to fulfill them.

Have you ever considered the importance of your keeping promises you make to your children? You want them to experience the faithfulness of your word and love for them in the little things so they will trust you when you make promises on the big things in life. Children who know from experience that when their parents make a promise, the promise will be fulfilled, have a basis when they are teenagers for believing the promises given them.

Let's analyze a few illustrations of how promises give rise to hope. The first example might be that of an airline promising to get you to a destination safely. To the degree you believe they have the power to perform what they promise (from repeated successes), you have a hope that if you get on the airplane bound for your destination, you'll get there safely. That hope then produces faith sufficient enough to purchase a ticket and board the plane.

A father promising a daughter something for her birthday may be a second illustration. If the father has a history of fulfilling his promises, the birthday promise generates a hope in her heart she will receive the gift. Long before her birthday, she rejoices in the gift to be received, dreams about it, and eagerly waits with patience and expectation for it. Her love for her father grows with the thought of her father's love in making the promise. That's agood reason to tell your children about good things to come–they'll enjoy the event many times over in their minds.
The dynamic of hope rising out of promises may be illustrated also with numerous scriptures. The passage in 1 Peter 1 stands out to me. Peter wrote that we have "a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Our hope springs from the fact that the gospel promises eternal life to everyone who believes in Christ. Why should we hope for eternal life from God through Jesus Christ? Why not through Mohammed? Buddha? Confucius? A new-age, metaphysical Jesus? The answer: God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Therefore, His promise that death will not be master over believers in Christ produces hope because God demonstrated His power to give life after death. If He kept His Word to His Son, Jesus, He will keep His word to His children who have received the adoption through Christ.

When writing to the Gentiles in Ephesus, Paul reminded them, "Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). Notice: without promises meant they were without hope! But once they were united to Jesus Christ, all of the promises became theirs, "For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him [Jesus] they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

You might lead your family in a Bible study one week this month on the relationship of the promises of God to hope. Many more verses contain the concept of hope and may be used to lay the foundation of hope for each member of your family. So far we've learned that hope produces faith, love, joy, and perseverance. Additionally, promises made by someone who has the power to fulfill them generates hope.

Let's get practical.

Have you ever wondered if there was a hope in the study of mathematics? I suspect your kids have! Although I imagine there are other promises to be made with regard to learning math, I would like to offer one from a spiritual perspective. Mathematics is God's way of thinking in the physical realm. When one studies math, one must practice thinking like God thinks. The value of such an exercise is that you learn some of the most important lessons of life on a daily basis. What are some of those lessons? When you think like God thinks, you get the right answer. When you don't think like God thinks, you get the wrong answer.

As you teach your children the various mathematical functions, theorems, and principles, it might be helpful also to provide the hope in learning to discipline the mind to submit to God's thoughts and ways. It may be motivating to your children to teach them that if they will practice conforming their thoughts to God's thoughts and submitting their ways to His ways in math, they will find it easier to do so in other areas of life. Then they will receive the blessings and benefits from God.
How important is it to think like God thinks about marriage, for instance? Or what happens when a parent thinks he or she knows better about how to discipline a child than God does and thus ignores the wisdom revealed in the Bible on that subject? In any area of life, the adult who has intentionally, knowingly, habitually practiced submitting himself to God's thoughts and ways, experiences the blessing of God in that area.

You probably can't wait to go practice a little math, right? Well, this may seem a little far-fetched to you, but I think you can see my point. If you want your children to love math and practice it, you must make it relevant to their future. There are other good reasons for practicing math, but I find the spiritual reasons to be the most important ones.

Perhaps you wish to motivate your children to learn a particular skill, such as playing a musical instrument, learning a construction skill, or mastering public speaking. If you understand the dynamics of the heart and hope, you'll help them think through what they treasure and how learning the skill will put the treasure within reach. Promising them such skills will open doors for them that otherwise they couldn't enter may cultivate hope. Showing examples of people who have been significantly used by God because they had the particular skill needed for a task also produces hope.

Loving Jesus is joyful!

See if this makes sense. Let's take what we've discussed thus far and make it practical when it comes to leading our children into a relationship with Jesus Christ and following Him. God has made their hearts to hope and to seek what it treasures. The natural heart longs to be happy. As the Preacher wrote in Ecclesiastes, "And I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot" (3:22). For most children, their treasure could be summed up in one three-letter word: fun. If something offers fun, we usually don't have a difficult time motivating them to do it, do we?

Here is the challenge: How do we show our children that a relationship with Jesus and following Him offer more promise of happiness than following their friends or the world's activities and vices? First, teach them that their selfish hearts will lust for temporal fun, thinking it will lead to happiness. Second, from the scriptures show them the emptiness of that line of thinking and point out the multitude of testimonies surrounding them which relate to empty and destroyed lives. Colossians 2:8-10 comes to mind as a great passage to teach both the emptiness of the world's ways and the fullness offered in Christ.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.

Third, lay before them the vision of their maturing to hope in the things that promise true joy rather than immediate sensual, temporal gratification. Expect this to be a process of growth rather than something they should just "get" and do. Many of us are still trying to learn this in our adult years because we didn't learn it in our childhood. Is it easy for us? Learning to hope in the promises of future grace and blessing take time and repeated practice. May I suggest you allow your children to struggle with this without condemnation from you, but constantly keep this process before their minds and hearts. Give them the hope of someday having the ability to treasure (and thus hope in) the eternal things of God.

Fourth, if they are to learn that a trusting relationship with Jesus and following Him offers more promise than the world offers, they must see us demonstrate fullness and happiness in our relationship with Jesus. Children who see their parents enjoy Jesus, yes, having fun in Jesus, will believe their parents when they say, "Jesus offers more hope of happiness." However, if they see their parents profess to know Jesus, but live constantly serious, legalistic, unhappy lives, why would they want to hope in Jesus? Our relationship with Jesus should be relevant and practical to real life. This relationship with Jesus makes everything we do in life fulfilling and satisfying. He is our desire fulfilled, The Tree of Life.
For believers in Jesus, if He is not our fullness, then we find our hearts to be sick. Why? Because our hope is in Jesus, Himself. Paul wrote to the Colossians.

To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:2-3).

In summary, I encourage you always to explain the hope that lies before your children when you give directions, instructions, or vision by giving them the promises of God for that course of action. When prohibiting something, the hopelessness associated with that action should be revealed.

In our next month's issue of The Chariot we'll discuss further the dynamics of hope. Perhaps between now and then you might lead your family in a series of discussions regarding the hopelessness of some worldly ways and the hopefulness of God's ways. Consider some of these topics: dating vs. Christ-centered relationships (see tape on website), fornication vs. abstinence (with older children), lying vs. honesty, making peer friendships more important than family relationships, sensual dress vs. modest dress, self-willful living vs. living for others, and making decisions based on personal, immediate gratification vs. making decisions on how they will effect future generations. You can surely add to this list. If you have some other ideas to discuss, please let me know. I'll add them to a list and include them at the end of this series of articles.

I hope this article has stimulated you to think more about the power of hope as well as encouraged you in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Until next month, may the Holy Spirit fill you with the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Norm Wakefield
Elijah Ministries
PO 377
Bulverde, Texas 78163
www.spiritofelijah.com