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Our part in our pursuit of Him

God wants us to be thoroughly successful.
The training of children is not child's play. Yet, we parents approach this great task with some simplistic priorities and attitudes. Then we wonder what went wrong years later. The majority of parents in our country have good intentions.  They will even apply some of these insights and some Scriptural food into the lives of their children at some point.  However, most of these parents will focus on just one or two of the components of their child.  The Bible clearly says that the effort to bear lasting fruit demands involvement of the whole person. Deuteronomy 6:4, Romans 12:1-21, Thessalonians 5:23-24. Your attempt to make your children successful will be in proportion to the application of God's Word to their spirit, mind, and body as well as your own.

Two main problems will develop if we neglect the exercise of our soul. The first problem is that we will sense an underlying boredom. Everything we pursue will appear to be meaningless and uninteresting. Although we are essentially composed of these three areas, they are so interrelated that they easily affect each other. If our spirit is under-exercised, then our soul will lose its drive, our body will fall to poor care.

The second result of neglecting our soul will be intense inner conflict and defeat.  If we try to use human resources to fulfill the demands of God's Law on our abilities without God's Spirit we are doomed to failure. See Romans 7:21-24

We may think that we will be forever stuck in this rut as long as we live. However, the Bible tells us very plainly that anyone can meet God's requirements for success.  The answer is revealed throughout the Word.  Romans 7:25-8:1 states it very plainly. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." 

We can keep our life in proper focus when we allow Christ to fill us with Himself. He is the Living Word of God.   As He fills our life with His person we must "digest" His written Word so we can understand what He wants to do through us. We need to comprehend how He wants to enable us to obey Him.  The study and application of the Word of God is mandatory to our success. Yet, the pursuit of our heart is God Himself. He is our joyous prize!

How can we help our children to be successful?
If success were simply dependent upon reading the Bible, taking a class or two, and passing some kind of license test, we all would be fairly successful, in some ways.  Yet, the Bible's concept of success is related to heartfelt, life changing, love empowered growth of each person. That empowered love is what compels the successful Christian to reach others and make them disciples.  This is what extends Christian success beyond the definitions offered by the world.  After implementing the first six insights, there is a simple, yet, challenging series of steps to help your children to be successful. God wants your whole being to be sanctified entirely by Him See 1 Thessalonians 5:23. These three steps revolve around those three components of our lives we have already discussed. Pursue these only to be filled with Jesus Christ and know Him intimately. Then you will find fulfillment of your whole person.

        1.        Your spirit must be born of God to have Christ's Spirit. Christ's Spirit enters our lives & writes His Word on our hearts. Jeremiah 31:33-34; 2 Co 3:3. Jesus gives us the 'formula' for our hearts to be circumcised so we can love God as we ought to. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
                A.        Deny yourself. Understand that your way has been a rebellious way. It has not been about God. If He is not Lord of all your heart and mind and body, then He is not Lord at all.  Romans 3:23 Therefore the result of that is death, eternal separation from Him. Romans 6:23
                B.        Take up your cross daily. Paul says it so well in Galatians 2:20. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Daily we need to stay on that cross with Jesus so He may live His life through us.
                C.        Follow Me. Jesus is not dead. He is not off on some other planet. If you deny yourself and accept His death for the payment of your sins, then He has circumcised your heart so He may live in you. He is alive! His life is all about God. He is all about relationships and will produce the right fruit in your relationships that will glorify God. So follow what His Spirit wants to do in you that is 'God-ward' not self-ward.
        
        2.        Retool your soul - Psalm 103:1. Our soul must be instructed in what is right and wrong.
                A.        Rebuild your thought life to become Christ's thoughts. (Mind) It is the Spirit of God who will accomplish this through the Word. John 16:13. Since Jesus lives in you through His Spirit, you now have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16
                1)        Study Scripture to understand God's thoughts. Isaiah 55:8,9
                2)        Use the New Testament to shed light on the Old Testament but always keep passages in context  1 Corinthians 2:7-10
                3)        Begin a lifelong notebook to collect themes, principles, concepts about God's thoughts and will for your life. 2 Timothy 3:14-17
                4)        Let Christ's Word sanctify your life and saturate your mind. John 15:3;17:1
                B.        Refocus your emotions so they become Christ's. (Heart)
                1)        Personalize different passages by changing pronouns, replacing characters with yourself, use portions of Scripture for your prayers.
                2)        Log a journal of your daily life and reflect on the emotions expressed in the Psalm for that day.  When have you felt like the Psalmist?
                3)        Make a record of the concepts you discover in Proverbs and how they benefited your life.
                4)        Understand what God has done in your life through your greatest weaknesses that Christ's power may be made visible. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
                5)        Thank God for every trial, disappointment, and irritation you have experienced and will experience.  Do so as often as necessary.
                C.        Redirect your goals so they are Christ's goals. (Will)
                1)        As you study the Word look for what action God wants you to take.
                2)        Take responsibility to meet needs in the Body of Christ that God shows you through the Word.
                3)        God will give you opportunities to "write" your life message and daily lessons on the hearts of other people. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3
                4)        This is how you make disciples for Jesus Christ and bear fruit for Him that will remain.

3.         Rededicate your body to be Christ's body.
        A.        Accept God's ownership of your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19
        B.        Romans 12:1-2 Offer your body as a living sacrifice to God.  Understand that beyond your control, God is in control.
        C.        Take appropriate care of your body but do not fear what man can do to it. Trust God the Father.  Luke 12:4-7; Philippians 1:6

Illustration from the Institute in Biblical Principles.