Parents, we should be praying not that our children
would be healthy, happy, and successful,
but that God would be glorified through their lives.
Those words from my pastor continue to weigh on my mind. I have to confess, I have more often asked
God to take care of my children than I have asked that their lives would
glorify him. What higher purpose is
there than to bring honor and glory to the one who created us and stands ready
to redeem and sustain those who call on him?
But that can be a hard prayer to pray.
A Parable
of Two Daughters
Once there were two daughters, unrelated, but sisters at
heart. They met and became good
friends. While each was very much her
own person, they found they had a great deal in common. They shared a sense of adventure, their
family backgrounds were remarkably similar, they shared a common faith, and
they both embraced life with enthusiasm.
As they neared graduation, each sought the best opportunity
to further her education. As God would
have it, they ended-up attending the same university. They chose separate courses of study, so,
while their paths diverged to a degree, they remained good friends throughout.
Upon finishing their education, the first became a nurse,
while the other a missionary – each in their own way serving God. The first excelled at her work, increased her
knowledge and ability, and was soon caring for the most critical patients. Along the way, she fell in love and was
married. Likewise, the second excelled
in her ministry, too, and followed her call to a city and people for whom she
cared very deeply.
Along the way, both daughters encountered various challenges
and opportunities that they embraced with fervor. The second found great fulfillment in her
work and experienced countless opportunities she might never have known
elsewhere. Though not always easy, she
found great satisfaction in seeing others come to know God and in helping the
ministry to flourish.
The first also found fulfillment in her work and marriage. Likewise, she experienced unexpected
opportunity, but in a sharply different way.
Very early in her career, she was diagnosed with a grave illness. It was staggering, nearly devastating. But with her faith and a deepening maturity,
she embraced her battle with the same passion and enthusiasm for life that
first drew her and her “sister” together.
She shared her story – openly, honestly, and with a sense of humor that
took some by surprise, even as it drew them in.
And as she did so, she grew in ways she’d neither expected nor
imagined. It was almost as if God was
doing a work in her, not in spite of, but because of the challenges she was
facing. A work she would never have
known any other way.
Last week, the second daughter made final preparations for
her wedding. The first entered hospice
care. In which daughter’s life was God
genuinely glorified?
I tell you the truth, it is both. Despite their very different journeys,
despite their very different circumstances, God is glorified in the life of
each daughter. In ways that only God can
do, he is faithfully present in each daughter’s experiences, redeeming them for
his glory, working through them and in them to accomplish his purposes.
It is not ours to fully understand the ways of God. It is very much ours to lean on his character
and his word, trusting that he will be glorified in our lives as we yield them
to him. In our lives, and in the lives
of our children, God, be glorified.
I am not skilled to understand
what God has willed, what God has planned.
I only know at his right hand
stands one who is my Savior.
--
Aaron Shust
