At the end of June, our church welcomed 350 K-5 kids for our
annual VBS program. As you can imagine,
with that many children pouring into the church every evening for several
hours, many hands were needed on deck to lead small groups, host games, and help
serve.
The Children’s Pastor has asked if any of my three kids
could come and lend a hand alongside of me, and on one Tuesday night, my
youngest and oldest were available to help.
It was great to have my oldest alongside of me that night, as it is rare
for him to join me at church. Having
been raised in a spiritually divided home, he is still working out his own
path, his own decisions. I lead and let go, lead and let go, lead and let go... and pray endlessly.
He was assigned to help with a group of Kindergarten aged
boys, who were delighted to see this tall, cool teenage boy sit with them to
play and hang out. In no time, he had
boys crawling all over him and chatting up a storm with him.
The entire evening, the church was alive with the Holy
Spirit, there was such a beautiful energy all around. The band played for the kids, the kids danced
and worshiped, the lessons were powerful and thought provoking. My son quietly took it all in, watching,
observing, processing what he was experiencing.
On our way home, my son reflected out loud on what he had
seen.
“If I went to church, I think that’s the kind of church I’d
want to go to.”
Me – “I understand... I love our church family. It’s a great church. Thank you for coming tonight, it meant a lot
to me. We really appreciated your help.”
Son – “No problem.
Hey mom...? How does the church
afford all the expenses, the building, the people, the programs, the music?”
Me – “It does take a lot of funds to run a church like this. It runs on donations from the people who
attend – we’ve talked about it before, it’s called tithing. Tithe comes from the word tenth, and it’s
believed that ten percent of all that we have – money, time, resources,
everything, should be given back to God.
That’s just a number, though, some give less, some give more.”
Son – “I can’t imagine ever being religious enough to give
money to a church. That just blows my
mind. When I get my pay, I want it all
to myself.”
Me – “The word religious, keeps coming up in our
conversations. I know that this is how
you see it, but can I share with you another perspective? To me, it’s not about religion, it’s about
relationship. To me, religion is rules
to conform to because we have to, because it’s expected of us. To me, it’s about relationship. I don’t love you because I have to love you,
son, I love you because I want to, I can’t help but love you, it pours out of
me. I don’t take care of you because I
have to, it’s because I love you and want to take care of you. It’s a matter of relationship. Yes, motherhood is such that it’s expected of
me to provide for you, love you, guide you, teach you... but if I did that only because I had to, it
wouldn’t be the same ,would it?”
Son – “I suppose... but that’s still a lot of money.”
Me – “How much do you love the young woman you’re courting?”
Son – “Oh my, it’s impossible to put that into words, mom. I love her... beyond measure, like you’d say. I can’t live without her.”
Me – “When you get paid next week, say you earn $110 on that
pay, and she asked you to give her some of your pay. How much of your pay would
you be willing to part with in order to give to her? How much does she mean to you?”
Son – without hesitation “All of it!! I’d give her everything I have, you know I
would!”
Me – “Yes, love, I know you would, I know she means that
much to you... and that’s
relationship. It’s not because you have
to, it’s because your heart desires to.
Imagine for a second how much you love her... close your eyes and
imagine this... then hear me when I tell
you that as much as you love her, I love Jesus and God immeasurably more. So now, tell me, how much would I give to God
if He asked me for something?”
Son – “Hmm....”
Me – “I believe that all I have has been given to me by
God. He provided my job to me, my funds,
my time, my resources, everything that I have was His first and He blessed me
with it – who am I to hold back from sharing it with those He loves? That is not religion, love, that is
relationship. All the rules of the
church, the rules in the Bible, I do my best to follow them not because I have
to, but because I truly want to, I desire to please God this way, and I see the
wisdom in it. I don’t do it perfectly,
but I do it passionately – it’s the least that I can do for God, you know?”
Son – “I think I’m starting to understand.”
Me – “I think so too, bud.
I think so.”
