Protecting Children
I want to tell you a story from when I first became a daddy. Our son was perfect, and my wife and I were thrilled at such a gift! We loved him so much and vowed before God to love him, to protect him and to bring him up in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ – as I believe all good Christian parents should do.
When he was old enough to start adventuring about on two feet, I set out to ‘baby proof’ the house. I put the little two-prong protectors in all of the outlets, I put the cabinet drawer and door locks in, I put the little corner protectors on all of the end tables so that he wouldn’t fall and get hurt by the sharp corners – all the things they tell you to do to ‘baby-proof’ a house with a new toddler. When I was done, I turned to my wife and said, “There, our son is safe in this house!” Does that sound familiar to any other daddies out there?
That very same day, I sat down in a rec-room chair and Joshua, still a little unsteady on his feet, toddled over to be picked up. As he approached, he tripped on my big foot and fell into the end table and blood went everywhere! He had split his eyebrow, not on the corner of the table, but on the edge. That was our second trip to the ER with him (the first is a story for another time).
I asked God why He allowed our son to fall and cut himself? The answer I got was that I had determined to make my son’s world safe of my own ability. Of course, the reality was that I could never fully protect him – it was foolish to think that I could.
Our children are never completely safe as long as they are in this world. But, it is incumbent upon us, as parents, to turn our children over to God’s loving protection. Certainly, we should do what is prudent as parents to keep our children safe – but realizing that of our own power, we can never protect our children the way He can. Our son still carries the scar of that moment in his eyebrow, a constant reminder to me to turn my burdens over to God, “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you.” (Psalm 55:22a). “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
The same is true of us as adults. We will never live in a completely safe world. But, if we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ and ask Him to be our Lord and Savior, then we will be His children. He will give us the keys to His Kingdom and give us the authority to bind Satan’s demons and loose God’s angels to protect us (Matthew 16:19). As believers, we will also be able to claim the principles of Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Will that protect us from all harm? No! But it will give us the assurance that no matter what we go through, it will be for His glory, and will ultimately be turned to good for us as well as for His Kingdom.
The first step is to recognize our sinful nature and recognize that we need to repent of that, and turn to Jesus Christ. If you have never done that, I urge you to go to PeaceWithGod.net and do it now. Become a child of God today and rely on His unlimited resources, instead your limited resources, to keep you safe from the wiles of the devil. If you would like to discuss that, contact me here RockysRamblings@gmail.com, I’d love to talk with you, pray with you, answer your questions, or help you settle into life as a new Child of God!
