Birth of a Son

On March 16, 2010 my son, Isaac, was born! He weighed in at over 8 lbs (much bigger than his sister was at birth) and he hasn't stopped growing since. At his one month check up he was over 10 lbs! How is he growing steadily? We can look first at the physical factors: he is drinking milk six times a day, he is sleeping when he needs to sleep, and he is getting regular interaction from his mom, me, and his sister so that he knows he has a support system around himself as he grows. The older he gets the more these things will change (they will all be a part of his life and schedule, but the amount of time for each will change as he grows). The older he gets, the meals in the middle of the night will be replaced by sleep and the amount of food eaten during a meal in the daytime will increase, plus he will be getting different types of foods later on such as fruits and vegetables and eventually, meat and potatoes. Our interaction with him will become much more than holding him and talking to him or singing to him...it will become play time in a big way as well as specific teaching time and bonding time. Beyond these physical factors, God is causing Isaac to grow. You see, we did the same things with our daughter, but she is different than he is. She was much smaller and developed at a different rate than he has thus far in his life. One day though, he will be where she is now...a smart, joyful, and energetic two year old!

Now why am I telling you all of this? Other than the fact that I am a very proud husband and father (and I am!), the parallels between raising children and making disciples are very similar. We are commanded to make disciples according to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). What does this entail? Well, discipleship is simply helping other Christians to grow in their faith so that they will be as much like Jesus as possible and they too will help other Christians to grow. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

There are things we need to do to help Christians grow, such as showing them how to feed themselves through reading, studying, and memorizing the Word of God as well as how to pray and communicate with their Heavenly Father. As they grow up we teach them how to make decisions in life that show that they have been saved by God as well as how to share their faith with others. Our ultimate goal is for them to be able to raise up other mature Christians who will be able to do the same with others...just like I want my son to be a godly husband and father someday, raising up children who love Jesus with their entire beings!

How are you doing in raising up mature Christians that raise up others also? Do you need to first be discipled so that you can do this with someone else? This is what we are to do as Christians...make disciples of all nations so that all may know Him!