Calling
By: Ansley Bonaventure, Middle School Principal
At our campus meeting in August, Mr. O’Dowd shared that as a community, we will be reading Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul Tripp over this school year and next. Why two years? As I have started reading it myself, I think I can see why. It is convicting and encouraging, and to read it and reflect on it well, with others and in fellowship, will take time! I am grateful we are embarking on this study together.
GOD’s Ambassadors
In the introduction to the book, Tripp describes the difference between an ownership approach to parenting and an ambassador approach. He says, “In the press of overwhelming responsibilities and a frenetic schedule, we lose sight of what parenting is really about … the only thing an ambassador does is to faithfully represent the message, methods, and character of the leader who has sent him.”
How are we doing?
As parents, are we reflecting God’s message of love and redemption, His methods of grace, and His character of kindness?
Tripp acknowledges that thinking of our parenting as an ambassador role is not only counterculture but also counterintuitive. We long to control, to fix, and to own. But, none of these are in line with what the Lord asks of us. He doesn’t ask us to control our children. He certainly knows we cannot fix them. And, maybe the hardest to truly comprehend - our children are ultimately not our own. They belong to God. They are a heritage from the Lord.
A BIG gospel parenting worldview
So, what is our parental calling as God’s ambassadors to our children?
Tripp says we need a “big gospel parenting worldview.”
I love this because at Perimeter School, we teach our students to think through a biblical worldview. We have to have a lens through which we parent our children, and that lens is how we have experienced the gospel.
If we have experienced God’s forgiveness, we can and should give forgiveness. If we have experienced His kindness and favor, we should readily give kindness and speak favor over our children. If we have experienced the joy of Christ’s salvation, we should cultivate that joy in our homes.
A Holy Calling
There are, of course, real barriers - our own sin and the sin of our children. He writes, “It is easier to announce the law than to give grace.” But, we must remember our calling. We are ambassadors.
He gives us three questions to consider as we think about what gets in the way of our calling as parents:
Do physical things create needless tension in your parenting?
How has the value of career success impacted your commitment to the work that God has called you to as a parent?
Do ministry decisions and commitments make it hard for you to faithfully do your work as a parent?
What new and better choices is God calling you to make?
As we embark on this two-year study together, may He remind us to see our calling as holy. May He prompt us to change our rhythms, routines and rhetoric to make us ambassadors who accurately reflect His grace and love. May we challenge and support each other in these ways.
“God has met you so that you would be ready to introduce His glory and grace to your children … God has opened your eyes to His presence and glory so you could help open the eyes of your children.”