We have been on this journey discussing holiness, parenting and ultimately parenting holiness in our homes. This is our 6th and final part of the series. In this weeks edition I hope to get us to the place of recognizing we as parents need to host the presence of God in our homes, raising our children in His presence. The pursuit of holiness is the gateway to hosting His presence. Hebrews 12:14 in The Passion Translation says “run swiftly toward holiness, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord”. The paradigm we have of pursuing holiness is key. Paradigm is the lens through which we all view both culture and Biblical Holiness.
As parents, navigating this one dynamic of our lives, households and faith of our children; Holiness is pivotal to how they will relate to God into adulthood.
My personal definition of holiness is this: “Holiness is the radical pursuit of Gods presence through
Radical obedience to His word and Radical separation from anything that impedes or hinders His presence in my life and my home”
These four truths give us a framework, a paradigm if you will to walk out this definition of Holiness.
- I love my Father, and I know He loves me (Resting in Identity as son or daughter) I talked about this in part 3 of this series, you can read it HERE
- My Father is for my good (Recognizing God is not withholding pleasure but guarding for our gain) I discuss this in part 4 of the series, you can read it HERE
- I love my Father and I don’t want to disappoint him (not because of how He will look at me, but rather because of how I value Him) I discuss this in part 5 of the series, you can read it HERE
- I love my Father and I know He loves me and because of that we want to be in each others presence (I don’t want anything to hinder or impede His presence in my life)
Today I want to break down this last point just a little bit, the depth of the topic could be discussed much deeper.
I love my Father and I know He loves me and because of that we want to be in each others presence (I don’t want anything to hinder or impede His presence in my life). I mentioned last week about how I lost my father to a battle with pancreatic cancer when I was 19. I remember as a child how much I loved hanging out with my dad. He used to be a printer (pretty obsolete these days with the internet age and fewer publications being printed). My dad owned his own printing company as a side business while working by day in a large printing company printing manuals for large equipment like Caterpillar heavy equipment. He called his side company M&Y Printing, named after my sister and I’s initials. Half of our garage at our house was filled with printing presses and a big machine that made “plates”. Plates where the metal stamped or embossed templates that the ink was spread across. Think of all the movies you’ve seen with the “plates” of money that are used to print our american currency and that will kind of give you a picture of what these plates were like. Why, after 27 years since my father passed and many years more since that garage printing business closed do I remember in great detail the printing operation in my garage? Because as a child I would spend hours upon hours “hanging out” with my dad in that garage printing shop. He would spend countless hours talking about printing and what those things were he was doing. Inks and plates and presses and bindings and cutters. All kinds of stuff.
I don’t know whether I was ever really interested in printing, but I was sure interested in spending time with my dad. And I know my dad loved having me hang out with him and “sit at his feet” and absorb all he was talking about and doing. In Luke chapter 10 we find a story of Jesus coming to Lazarus’s house in Bethany. Mary and Martha are there (its their house too). I’m sure you have probably read or maybe heard a sermon on this story:
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
Kind of paints a little picture of the point “I love my Father and I know He loves me and because of that we want to be in each others presence (I don’t want anything to hinder or impede His presence in my life)” There were many other things that Mary could have occupied herself with, many different things, and Martha surely had, she was being a good host after all. But Jesus reminds us, “one thing is needed”
David writes about it in Psalm 27: 4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. (Emphasis added) David prophetically envisioned what Mary encountered and what each of us now have access to through the cross!
Lets key in on this one phrase “one thing is needed”.
Need /nēd/
verb
past tense: needed; past participle: needed
1. require (something) because it is essential or very important.
One thing is essential, above all else and that is what Mary had chosen, it would not be taken from her. What is so essential that doing anything for God, including parenting has to take a second seat to it. Intimacy with Jesus. That’s the One Thing. That is our highest priority. That is every believers priority. It is essential to our children, their destiny in God, and their every day lives. Interesting how we can side step this very essential thing, being in the presence of God for the very thing we need to have it in our lives for most: Parenting. Our homes end up devoid of the presence of God because we have Martha’d our way into parenting instead of parenting from the place of presence.
While I remember those days in my fathers garage print shop, I also remember growing up, or should I say growing away. I can remember the teenage years and being much more preoccupied with my own life and priorities. It’s reminisce of the story of nation Israel and Eli the priest. Eli was asleep at the switch as a father while his sons were off doing their own thing, and… the presence of God was not sensed in the nation. In 1st Samuel 3 as God is raising up Samuel to replace Eli, and Eli’s sons, scripture tells us “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.”
By the time I realized How much time had passed and how little time I had spent with my father since those childhood years in the garage my father was gone. The nation of Israel never even noticed that the Presence of God had been decreasing in their midst. Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were to busy doing their own thing too notice God’s hand was not on them. And then one day Eli is dead, Hophni and Phinehas are dead and the Ark of the covenant had been captured by the Philistines. Phinehas’ wife was with child and when she realized what had transpired the revelation hit her, the Presence of God has departed from Israel. Then she named their child Ichabod, saying, “The glory (Presence) has departed from Israel!”
Are we hosting the presence of God in our homes? Are we parenting from His Presence? Or are we like the nation of Israel during Eli’s days and haven’t even noticed that the Presence of God departed, that in our homes “the word of the Lord is rare in our days; there is no widespread revelation.”
Many things draw our attention, but one thing is needed. What will you choose? What will we as parents choose? Will you choose to sacrifice for the sake of raising your children in God’s presence? The pursuit of holiness is the pursuit of His presence and this last point in developing a right perspective, right paradigm of holiness: I love my Father and I know He loves me and because of that we want to be in each others presence is all about I don’t want anything to hinder or impede His presence in my life.