Cats in the Cradle
Last week I talked about scheduling conflicts and the need to be honest about how we fill our calendar and how if you show me your calendar I can tell you what your priorities are. Today is the follow up to that. But I am going to do it through the lens of an old song. This is one of those songs you think rocks as a kid…now as a dad myself, I will admit …it scares me a bit.
For you originals who prefer to the 74 version – The Cats in the Cradle
How I remember hearing it first as an 80’s kid – The Cats in the Cradle
No, I won’t tell you which one I like better.
We grow up… most of us reach a point in which we accept that.
Watching our kids grow up. That’s amazing…and bittersweet.
Time moves quickly and if you are not careful, you can miss a lot. Did you know God built training into the Bible so that doesn’t happen?
In Exodus 13:14, Deuteronomy 6:20 say the same thing – your traditions are in place so that when your child asks, “Father why?’ you might speak of what the Lord has done!
Deuteronomy 5:29 is a cry from the Lord – “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”
And Deuteronomy 6:27 “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
This is a reminder that you have been given a small amount of time to raise a child, a smaller amount of time to mentor a teen, and then the ways are set. Yes, adults come to God every day, and that’s a good thing. But your time with your children, no matter their age, is now one minute less than it was before.
How do you stop that countdown clock? Put them in the hands of the Lord. Teach Them.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21
It may mean you travel less for that sport, but I guarantee you get better mileage out of the Holy Spirit.
Schedule wisely my friends,
- Pastor Dan