Live
“‘And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.’”
Today’s Text: Ezekiel 16:15-34 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
For the most part, the love of parents for their children is undeniable. If you have children, you know that. If you don’t have children, you see it in how parents interact with their children.
At the youth retreat last week, a group of parents came up specifically to pray for their children. I hope that every parent was praying that their children’s lives would be devoted to Jesus Christ alone.
There may be some parents in our community praying that their children “come to their senses” so that they would be obedient, stay out of trouble, study hard, and become successful—all within a Christian community, of course, because they need the “blessing” of God.
Praying that our children are devoted to Christ is an act of letting them go—releasing them to the Lord—in faith.
Praying that our children be obedient, stay out of trouble, study hard, and become “successful” is an act of control—binding them to the altar of idols.
And the ironic thing is, releasing our children to the Lord is releasing them to the blessing of Christ. Binding our children to the altar of “success” is binding them to the curse of idolatry.
Father, You are the Giver of life and the Source of all blessing. May our children be devoted to You and to You alone. You are our Shield. You are our very great Reward. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
