Stewardship & Responsibility

Having allowed yourself to be built up by God through the workings of His word and the Holy Spirit, stewardship is the place of rolling up your sleeves and building up your children. It is the parenting workshop of prayer, instruction, discipline, guidance, support, and provision until Christ is formed in them! It is, knowing and accepting the responsibility of raising your children for God; no one else has that responsibility, only you! You are responsible for the type of faith they own up to as they grow, for shaping their lifelong Christian foundations, and for their capacity to stand in the days of their adversity! John 17:12. Responsibility is taking ownership of the outcomes for things entrusted into our care.

It is about understanding your shepherd-hood over your family. John 10:1-18. It is, knowing that you have authority and power over everything about your children to bring them through. This is also a dimension of your priesthood over your children: to pray and make intercessions for them when you see them go off tangent. Becoming a parent can be the most joyful experience, and parenting your children as they grow older can also be the most demanding life task you will perform. But God in Christ gave us a model and template to follow to succeed as Christian parents. He says:

"I spelled out your character in detail To the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; Then you gave them to me, And they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, That everything you gave me is firsthand from you, For the message you gave me, I gave them; And they took it, and were convinced That I came from you. They believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world But for those you gave me, For they are yours by right. Everything mine is yours, and yours mine, And my life is on display in them. For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world; They’ll continue in the world While I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life That you conferred as a gift through me, So they can be one heart and mind As we are one heart and mind. As long as I was with them. John 17:6‭-‬12 MSG

1. Praying and interceding for your children

2. Speaking them into a deep understanding of their identities in Christ, they are God's Masterpiece!

3. Using every opportunity to help them understand that your source and their source is God

4. Creating time to share and speak God's word to them and guiding them to apply God's word to their lives

5. Sharing your journeys with God and your faith to create that convincing narrative that helps them understand that the Bible is not a myth but God's word backed by His Spirit.

6. Teaching them the gratefulness of the gifted life of righteousness we have received in Christ. Helping them know that life and its blessings are gifts from God, not our entitlements!

7. Teaching them the unity of the faith and the bond of family.

While I was with them, I kept and preserved them in Your Name [in the knowledge and worship of You]. Those You have given Me I guarded and protected, and not one of them has perished or is lost except the son of perdition [Judas Iscariot–the one who is now doomed to destruction, destined to be lost], that the Scripture might be fulfilled. [Ps. 41:9; John 6:70.] John 17:12 AMPC

The above version of scripture is quite instructive to me as a parent. It shows me my role as a parent in preserving my children from the impact of a decaying world, to keep them by His name, not by my abilities. The bible says the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it, and they are saved! Our children can enjoy that safety and protection of the name of Jesus when we consistently remember to bring them under that covering.

Again, this scripture highlights our roles as guardians and protectors of our children. Beyond physical safety and security, we are to guard and protect our children spiritually in the place of praying for and praying with them. What are some additional ways that we can provide stewardship for our children?

1. Consistency in sharing God's word with them

2. Praying with them and for them

3. Guarding them against external influences that can derail them, unguarded access to technology or information that is not age-appropriate, environments and people that may pose as threats and engagements or "opportunities" that expose them to harm.

4. Protection from negative influences and abusive relationships with peers, adults and other "authority figures" around them.

The list can be endless. Our role and responsibility as stewards are to be available and accessible to achieve success as parents. It is a daily walk until they come into their identity in Christ. Like a farmer. who, in season and out of season, continually waters his plant until maturity. There is the time to plough the ground, time to plant the seed, time to water, time to allow nature to water, time to prune and time to harvest.

Pruning in parenting may mean that there will be times in our children's lives when we will allow them to experience firm discipline to trim off the excesses of childhood, a time not to step in but let them experience the natural consequences of their actions that will drive self-reflection and growth.

Our roles as parents also include the responsibility of care:

"And if you tenderly care for this little one on my behalf, you are tenderly caring for me. But if anyone abuses one of these little ones who believes in me, it would be better for him to have a heavy boulder tied around his neck and be hurled into the deepest sea than to face the punishment he deserves!" Matthew 18:5‭-‬6 TPT

The responsibility to protect:

"Now you should understand that it is never the desire of your heavenly Father that a single one of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18:14 TPT

The responsibility to provide:

"Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food." Genesis 1:29 NLT

We are responsible for directing, nurturing, and teaching them about the kingdom culture and major decision-making as directed by God. Our action or inaction as parents determines the fulfilment or otherwise of God's purpose for His children (relinquishing ownership and taking the stance of the faithful steward because these are God's arrow for the future).

To teach them about the attitudes (beatitudes) of the kingdom and about their identity (the salt of the earth), Matt 5- 7 is a full curriculum about kingdom culture and way of life. As parents, we have to be consistent with the message of truth for it to take root in our children and produce the fruit God wants to see; we can't be preaching the kingdom while nudging them into the prosperity of the world and hoping the word will take root; we can not serve two masters, God and marmon

“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it joyfully. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Matthew 13:18‭-‬23 NLT

There's a lot of pressure from the world and its systems to get our children to conform as they seek relevance. The entertainment and social media influencer trend for young people sets up many of our children for derailment and entrapment into a life of sin. The "opportunities" to influence and make it "big" hit the billion-dollar mark and retire as a teen. Live your best life now are all common parlances pushing young adults into perversity. As parents, we must read between the lines and help our children understand the difference between living their God-given purpose and getting derailed by an "opportunity".

We must take utmost responsibility for the outcomes we want to see in our children "God will never be mocked! For what you plant will always be the very thing you harvest. The harvest you reap reveals the seed that you planted. If you plant the corrupt seeds of self-life into this natural realm, you can expect a harvest of corruption. If you plant the good seeds of Spirit-life, you will reap beautiful fruits that grow from the everlasting life of the Spirit." Galatians 6:7‭-‬8 TPT.

As parents, we not only demonstrate responsibility towards our children but also demonstrate responsibility to them. It is key to teach them how to take up responsibility and be responsible in all things.

Responsibility to nurture and guard God's purpose for the life of each of our children; what has God sent them here to do? It's in the place of prayer and intercession that God unfolds His plans. Whatever He reveals, we know His thoughts toward them are good, and He can accomplish it in their lives. Our responsibility is to commit all to His hands

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take". Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6 NLT This is so true with our children; we must commit to Him and trust Him to make their lives what He desires.

Stewardship

"The Master said, “Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he’s doing his job. But if he says to himself, ‘The master is certainly taking his time,’ begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes. “The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

Luke 12:42‭-‬48 MSG

The concept of stewardship in parenting speaks to the Sovereignty of God and His ownership of all things; children are gifted to us for a season, not as bragging rights but to disciple for God and to present them whole to Him as fully formed disciples of Christ.

Stewardship and responsibility in parenting require utmost ownership that does not give up in the face of challenges; we own up to the failures and triumphs, knowing that we have received authorization to bring them all home! None missing, none lost when your family's genealogy is accounted for before the Father. May His grace equip and uphold us on our journeys. Shalom!