Stuff That Matters In Life

Dear children,

As much as I tried to be, I must admit I wasn’t the perfect parent to you. So I am looking in hindsight and analyzing what I should’ve done and shouldn’t have done, so that you can be aware of issues you might need to work on in your life. Hopefully this will help you avoid having to go to therapy.

If you find any habits, attitudes or personality quirks in yourself and wonder why you’re that way, ask me. I might be able to give you some insight based on what I know you lived through in your childhood. Ask me soon, before I get old and forgetful.

Here’s one very important one thing I wish I had taught you.

I wish I had taught you to have a daily devotional time with the Lord. Quiet Time, QT, devos, daily Bible reading, whatever you might call it. I know you know the concept, but unfortunately I did not institute a consistent family devotional time that might have helped you developed the discipline.

When I first became a Christian, I went to a church that put a big emphasis on QT so much so that if you skip a day or two, you’ve pretty much fallen from grace. I thought keeping QT was a measure of spiritual maturity. If I skip a day of QT, I felt guilty and thought it was [one step from] the unpardonable sin.

When I started going to another church, I learned that QT is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It should not be a legalistic requirement. God is not so concern about how discipline you are as about how you actually live.

So I decided that I wouldn’t teach you about QT as a “requirement” of the Christian life. In fact, I don’t think I talked to you much about QTs at all. I didn’t want you to think that Christianity is just about the spiritual disciplines. I wanted you to love God so much that you’d naturally want to have devos.

But I realize now I swung too much the other way.

I should’ve taught you that it’s important to have a daily QT, because reading the Bible daily and praying regularly is how you keep connected to God. It’s a way to hear from God so that he can give you direction and wisdom for your days.

When we get distracted or busy with life, it’s easy to forget devos. It’s those times that discipline and habit is important. The act of the will in discipline keeps you in God’s Word. His Word changes you from the inside out.

So now that you are an adult, let me encourage you, if you are not already doing so, do develop a habit of QT. Not because you have to, but because you know that the God of the universe has made himself available to meet with you.

[See My Heart, Christ’s Home]