… and after an interesting conversation with some dear friends last night about our kids and church, I was reminded of the instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples about 40 days after He had risen from the dead.  He took their question about the date of His return and the nature of His mission and basically redirected them out into the world with the message of His way of life… not, of course, until they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit, which took place ten days later.

I considered each of our daughters and the fact that we didn’t get to celebrate Easter together… Melissa was at another church teaching Sunday School to kinders, Emily was live-streaming Kanye West’s gospel music performance live from Coachella, and Lauren had been with her Jewish friend’s family the night before for a Seder dinner in LA.  What occurred to me, after my reasonable disappointment in not being with them, was that they were all headed in different directions… all influencing their world in ways that are unique to their journeys… all being faithful to the Lord Jesus who saved them and filled them with His loving Spirit.

The nostalgia of the past can be a strong deterrent for the worldwide mission of Christ.  I’m just glad that our adult children are His children and that His heart for others is the force that is leading their lives… even if that means not seeing as much of them as I’d like.  I want to affirm each of our daughters, and the many adult children of my peers, who were raised with traditional Christian values and are living lives of influence among their peers.  May the Lord who sent His apostles into all the world bless the young adults today to make a difference in the lives of their peeps.

For His glory,

Pastor Mike