Hungry for God: When Children forsake the faith

It's been a while since a cartoon moved me to tears, but Brave, Disney's new release by Pixar, did just that.

An enchanting story about the wonderful, sometimes awful, always complex relationship between a mother and daughter, Brave begins with a curly-haired redhead sitting at her mother's knee learning the basics of life as a princess. Along with the decidedly manly pursuits of archery and horseback riding allowed by her father, Merida learns the dress, decorum, and skills necessary to one day rule a kingdom.

And like many modern-day princesses, she chafes at her mother's tutelage and chooses instead to go her own way. She rejects her mother's vision for her life and casts off the perceived shackles that come with living out the destiny of a king's daughter.

Through an exciting series of events, Merida realizes the value of her mother's traditions, while Elinor, her mother, realizes that her daughter should have the freedom to choose her own future. Perhaps it's ok, she concedes, for her daughter to be a bow-toting, horse-riding princess. Maybe it's not just ok, she acknowleges, but even good for a young adult to choose her own recreation, profession, and spouse.

The movie is a thought-provoking, sensitive encouragement to mothers and daughters to respect and embrace each other's differences.

But what's a parent to do when her child rejects the faith of her parents in her quest to make her own way in the world? Pixar doesn't examine the spiritual side of destiny and calling, but the parallels are there.

In order to respect our children's independence, must we concede our children's right to choose a path that travels away from God? Must we allow them to cast faith by the wayside like so many traditions in their quest for independence and self-government?

I say no.

While most Christian parents acknowledge their young adult children's right to choose their own professions, spouses, and recreation, we do not have to stand idly by and watch our children fling the faith of their fathers to the wind. Unlike the myriad of possibilities for a major, a profession, or a job, all of which can be subject to the individual interests and inclinations of our children, there is only one viable option for our children's spiritual lives.

Faith.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life," states Christ, "no one comes to the Father except through me."

"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed." (Deuteronomy 30:15-18).

Without spoiling the ending for those who haven't watched it yet, one of the most intense and poignant scenes of the movie comes when Elinor, Merida's mother, fights a raging, maniac bear that threatens to rip her precious daughter to shreds. As the bear looms over Merida with its teeth bared and its jaws dripping, Elinor springs to her rescue as only a mama bear can do.

It is a life or death battle that the mama bear fights with every ounce of strength she has. There is no other option.

A great and terrible battle wages for our children. Instead of a grizzly bear trying to sink its teeth into their tender throats, the enemy wants to destroy their souls. He will not rest until he has devoured our sons and daughters, and it's up to us, Mama and Papa bears, to vanquish him.

We must do battle for the hearts and lives of our children.

We must fight with every ounce of spiritual strength we possess.

We must win this battle of all battles.

There is no other option.

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6:10-13).

Will you join me in doing battle for the hearts and lives of our children? I invite you to stand with me as I wrestle in prayer before God like Jacob, who stated, "I will not let you go until you bless me!"

May God in his mercy grant to each one of us the lives and souls of our children.

This post is a Reader's Choice post on Angie's blog, Womanhood with Purpose.

It was also featured on Jacqueline's lovely blog, Deep Roots at Home.

Did you know that Lori has a new devotional book, Joy in the Journey - Encouragement for Homeschooling Moms?

With a devotion for every day of the week, Joy in the Journey also contains application questions, an action step, and a prayer. It's suitable for your personal devotions or for use by your support group for meeting topic ideas.

To read more about Joy in the Journey and what other homeschooling moms are saying about it, click here.

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To read other posts on homeschooling:

To read the post "Homeschooling--Choosing the road less traveled," Click Here.
To read the post "Homeschooling--When you've lost your joy," Click Here.
To read the post "Homeschooling and God's mercy--When you feel like a failure," Click Here.

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