Category: Advent 2015 – Parenting

Eight days after Jesus was born, Joseph circumcised his son, and just over a month later, he and Mary carried their infant son to the Temple in Jerusalem to dedicate him to the Lord. You’ll find this account in Luke 2:22-24, but the tradition of dedicating a child to the Lord stretched back around 2000 years to the time of Moses.

In Exodus 13:2, Moses said our children belong to the Lord. We must release our control and place them in his care. When our daughter was an infant, Gene and I followed the example of Mary and Joseph and dedicated Prisca to the Lord. She cried loudly through the ceremony, and the pastor became flustered. He dedicated God to her care instead of the other way around! The pastor corrected himself immediately but not before we all smiled.

There are many things we cannot control in life. We can’t control diseases or disasters that might strike those we love. But we can always take the first step and dedicate our children to the Lord, placing them in his care. Take time today and pray for all those you love, placing them once again in God’s care.

Every first-time parent desires to do a good job. They read books on child-rearing, many seek advice from experienced parents. Joseph received a message telling him his son would be the Messiah, and Mary too learned that their child would grow up to sit on the throne of David. What steps did Mary take to prepare for parenting this special child?

In those first months of pregnancy, before others could notice her pregnant state, Mary spent time preparing for the heavy responsibility of parenting God’s Son. She reviewed scriptures to understand more and more about God’s promised Messiah. By the time she headed south to visit her older cousin Elizabeth, Mary already had begun to grasp the unique role she would have in raising God’s Son. Her song – recorded in the first chapter of Luke – reveals how she used her time pondering and then quoting many passages in Psalms that pointed to her son’s future work.

Just as Mary prepared for parenting Jesus by seeking God’s guidance in the scriptures, so we too can prepare to pass on our faith to our family members and others by studying scripture. Why not begin today by reading Luke 1:46-55 and spending time in prayer today?

In Matthew 1:20-31, Jesus’ father Joseph had just learned his wife-to-be was pregnant, and this child, Joseph knew, was not his. After thirty years of counseling people facing crisis pregnancies, I can easily imagine some of the emotions he may have experienced in those first hours: shock, anger, betrayal, grief. Joseph, however, was a kind man. He respected Mary. Instead of demanding that she be stoned for adultery, he planned to break the engagement quietly. But that night an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. This was no ordinary child, the angel said. The child was conceived by the Holy Spirit and he would save God’s people from their sins.

Have you ever considered the enormity of that message? Any new parent feels the weight of responsibility of raising a child, but can you imagine parenting the Son of God? The Messiah? The burden of fathering Jesus fell heavy upon Joseph’s shoulders. Many challenges lay ahead. People in Nazareth would reject Jesus; King Herod would try to kill the child. Joseph had to get this parenting task done right. And he only had one opportunity to do it well.

At least Joseph knew ahead of time some of the challenges that lay ahead. An angel gave him a personal message forewarning him. We don’t have that advantage. We have no idea what may be around the next curve in the road for ourselves, let alone for our children. But just as God helped Joseph face each challenge as it came, God will help us too. Ask the Lord today to help you overcome obstacles in your path and trust him with those you love.