Fresh Bread

Guest (Male): You are listening to Fresh Bread, Dr. Harry Reeder's daily devotional from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Harry Reeder: We covered in Luke chapter 1 and verse 57, and we covered all the way down to verse 79. Well, today we've got a little bit smaller slice, verse 80: "And the child grew." Now, which child are we talking about? John the Baptist. "The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel."

So just a little bit about the childhood of John the Baptist, that he grew in spirit. He's going to grow in a number of ways, but he grows in spirit is what the scripture brings our focus to. Zechariah and Elizabeth are good parents. They not only take care of their child physically, their number one nurturing project was his heart and his life spiritually.

What is your priority in parenting? Is it the spiritual or the physical? Now listen, I did not ask spiritual or physical. We are responsible for both. We're going to see this in the next chapter and we're going to hear Luke 2:52 that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with man. I am fully aware of the full-orbed dynamic of both the spiritual and the physical, but I am also aware of this: that the scriptures are abundantly clear.

Our number one responsibility is the spiritual well-being of our children. We do not know whether our children will have five years, 10 years, 20 years, or 80 years on this earth. We do not know. But we also know this: the ultimate blessing of their life is not now. The ultimate blessing of their life is eternity.

I can't say it any better than C.S. Lewis. All the things that we automatically go to and prize—power, money, influence, applause, fame—have you noticed we have this desire for fulfillment and joy? But the things we go to never deliver. Who are the number one achievers of power, influence, and fame? Is it not the celebrities? Entertainment celebrities, athletic celebrities, political celebrities.

Let me ask you a question. You want to see the bills they pay for therapists, counselors? You want to see how many live their lives in despair and disappointment? When that becomes their god, once they get it, it's not enough, and then that leads them into the death spiral of life. Is that what you want your child to embrace? Is that where you want them to live?

Folks, I am all for people being successful in the hands of the Lord. But would you have taken a look at John the Baptist and said, "Well, Elizabeth and Zechariah, they certainly faltered. Look where their child's living: in the wilderness. Grew up and went to the wilderness." Why? He's getting ready to come to the populace to do his ministry, which is to prepare the way of the Lord. And it's actually in the extenuating circumstances of the wilderness that he is going to focus upon the priority of the fullness of his life spiritually.

That's the characteristic of their parenting: he grew in spirit. So may I ask you once again, is the spiritual a priority in your life for your child? I am not saying their education, their stature in life, that's not important. I'm not saying that. But I am saying this: what will determine their joy in life is their spirit renewed in the Lord so that their greatest desire is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

When all of the things of this world fail us, here's what Lewis said: "We were made for joy, and when all the things of this world fails us, what does that tell you? Our joy is not in this world. Our joy is in the world to come. He is our joy, and we will be with Him if we know Him." Is your parenting turning the hearts of children to their Heavenly Father? That's another slice of Fresh Bread.

Guest (Male): Recover a renewed enthusiasm to live for Christ and grow in Christ. Request this month's free gift offer, Dr. Reeder's series, "Cultivating a Heart for God." Call 1-800-488-1888.