A Motivating Factor
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

© by Joyce C. Lock

Growing up in an environment where non-church attendance isn't an option, much of one's beliefs may be based upon other's faith (wherein one either leans upon the faith of others or were not considered mature enough to make those choices), their daily schedule is generally more structured also.

Young adults are familiar with struggles of being finally 'on their own', free to sleep whenever they feel like it (as long as they make it to work). Suddenly, choices and consequences become theirs.

They begin deciding what they believe, the life style they will choose, the importance of regular church attendance, and many more things. Likely, before they get it all figured out ... children come along.

Whether late night socials, or babies stealing one's sleep ... they can often relate to the 'pitch it out the window' Sunday morning alarm clock - finding that though they desire to do good, evil is present. Still believing in God, they're left feeling guilty whenever they fail to measure up or miss a church service.

What helped me most during those early years was a statement I remembered from childhood, "How can you say you love your children if you don't care about their souls?"

It's a motivating factor to make sure one's children have every opportunity possible to learn about God.

And though we may still occasionally dread the alarm clock, in time one's faith becomes their own. Then, there's no place we'd rather be than in God's house. 

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lamb-rightThe purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.