Good Shepherd - Names of Christ Advent Series
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." John 10:11
If you are a momma, a teacher, a grandparent or at all connected to a child’s life you have sheep God has given you the responsibility of shepherding.
It is not solely up to the church to steer our children to Christ; we too must shepherd their hearts, leading them to the Savior. Realistically the church has maybe 200 hours a year with our children, where we have thousands. As a momma of two boys, I strive daily to “lay down my life” for them.
Called to Lay Down
Some people come to motherhood by what they would term “an accident”; they hadn’t planned on being a mother but by God’s plan, found themselves pregnant and had to alter their plans. That wasn’t me. I have known I wanted to be a momma from the time I was old enough to understand how God placed children in families. Motherhood has been a calling God placed on my heart from a very young age.Therefore it was my false belief - before I had children - that raising them would be relatively easy. After all, I desired and planned for them. I never imaged how hard daily laying down my life for my children would be.There’s this thing inside of me, inside of all of us – our own self will – that fights against this. In the last three years of being a mother I have learned that I can be a very selfish person.
Sanctification
Parenthood is a process of sanctification and laying down our life may be the crux of this process.I first learned to do this when our firstborn was an infant. Babies are very needy creatures. As most of you are probably well aware, quality, restful sleep is hard to come by you have a baby, so I had prepared myself to expect a lack of sleep. What I did not expect or plan for was having a baby who had reflux and needed to nurse on-demand, round the clock. In order for either of us to get any sleep I had to sleep with him in my arms so that he could nurse on and off all night. This meant we spent most of the first eight months of his life sleeping in a recliner. I was not someone who wanted to co-sleep with my children. That desire fell by the wayside after I realized neither of us would get any sleep if we didn’t co-sleep though this was never a desire of mine.As a parent it is easy to try to force our thinking onto our children. Sometimes they need us to lay down our needs to pick up theirs.We can be encouraged by the example of Jesus. He left everything to come and die for us. Think about it. Jesus lived in the most beautiful place ever created. He had abundant riches and the continual presence of His Father. He left all of that to come into a very broken world as a baby to save the very people who would one day kill Him.Jesus came to lay down His life for us so that He could close the gap between God and His people. That's what Christmas is all about.If we truly belong to Jesus, we too are required to pick up our cross and follow Him as we are called to in the Gospel. This means pointing our children to Christ; it means laying down our desires, wants and yes, even at times needs, to serve them.Proverbs 22:6 instructs us to “raise up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it”.Jesus gave up His life in an act of love towards us, His children. He calls us to do the same for our children.See also: 12 Ways to Show Christ to my Children Every Day
What does this really look like in the everyday moments of motherhood?
It might look like waking up each morning and praying that God would allow you to see the needs of your children before your own. It means introducing your children to Christ at a young age so that they are brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Perhaps it means knowing when to step away and recharge so that you are truly giving the best of you to your family. It means being your child’s advocate in a world that is not always welcoming to children and teaching them to behave in a way that honors the Lord.Mary (Jesus’ mother) is such a beautiful example of this. The angel Gabriel, came to her when she was through to be 12 or 13 years old with news that would change her entire life, news that very well could have been the end of her life. The culture in which she lived did not look favorably upon pregnancy outside of wedlock. Yet, she knew this and was still willing to sacrifice her life, to be obedient to the Father.What a beautiful example for us to follow.Sweet friend, God didn’t promise us this would be easy. Laying down our life is one of the hardest but most rewarding things we will ever do.Through the Holy Spirit, we have the power as mothers to continually lay our lives down in Christ's example.Cling to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who came to lay down His life for you.See also: How To Make Your Christmas More Christ-Centered - 8 Ideas
About the Author
Amber is the face behind Through Hope's Door. She has been married to her husband Lance for 6 years in April and they are the parents of Matthew (3) and Zachariah (7 months). They find themselves in Montana "where the mountains meet the prairie" and love living and celebrating life together. This is the seventh in the series of the Names of Christ.
I Am by Christ-Centered MamaThe Word by Lauren GaskillLight of the World by Dawn KlingeWonderful Counselor by Jessie of One Lost CoinBread of Life by Darlene of Time Warp WifeWay, Truth, Life by Sara of The Holy MessGood Shepherd by Amber of Through Hope's DoorMediator by Heather of Compared To Who?Prince of Peace by Rachael GilbertResurrection by Traci of Traces of FaithEmmanuel by Amaris of She is ReclaimedAlpha and Omega by Carmen of Married By His Grace