Checkmate
Will—my five year-old—received a chess set for Christmas. Bad idea.
Turns out he's pretty good at the game, asking to play incessantly often.
Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall. Mene, mene tekel parsin—roughly translated, "Daddy is going to get his tail kicked in chess one day very soon."
Until then I'm enjoying my chess grandmaster status while looking over my shoulder.
God is gracious to provide the humbling influence of children. And to allow me to see it coming like an out of control Mac truck.
God isn't calling me to be a perfect parent. I lose nothing in admitting, sometimes glaringly, my weakness before my children. One of the more important lessons I hope I'm able to teach them is how to glorify God in failure, weakness, and habitual repentance.
Without this example I'll prove in the end to be a hypocrite—a man who professes Jesus but apparently never shows his need of him. Children are finely tuned hypocrisy detectors. I'm surprised the CIA doesn't employ them interrogations. They can spot a lying adult at 100 yards without batting a baby blue eye. They will see our weakness, sin, and mediocrity.
Instead of hiding from our children, Christian parents have the opportunity to stand honestly before them as we stand honestly before our God. If we are accepted by God because of what Christ has done for us then why do we need our children to think we never sin or fail. We will fail them and sin against them. And in those moments we'll get to tell them where our hope is—in the gospel of our wrath absorbing, sinner loving savior, Jesus.
So when that "Checkmate!" comes, I'll relish it, saying, "Thank you son, I needed that more than you know."
Comments [2]