Samson

The vision of parents.
How good is your word?

Children of godly parents are incredibly blest. Children whose godly parents have a vision for them are immeasurably blest. If you are such a child, don't wait until Thanksgiving Day to express your gratefulness to your parents and to God!

Samson's parents must have been godly parents; otherwise, it doesn't seem likely that God would have chosen them as He did. Whatever the case, though, they had a vision for their son even before his conception. This vision was given to them by God Himself. Talk about incredible and immeasurable blessing! But he squandered the vision and the opportunities; he misused and minimized his mission.

What about you?

If your heritage includes godly parents, they very likely have a vision for you. They may even have a mission for you! Do you know what your folks envision for you? If not, ask them. While you are at it, find out if they dedicated you to any particular purpose or mission. As a parent, I can assure you that if they don't have a vision or mission for you, your asking them will really set them to thinking and praying along those lines.

Let's suppose they do have a vision for you. Does that mean you must make that vision your own? Ought you follow through on any mission to which they have dedicated you? After all, surely a parent can't make vows and commitments for their children!

You are right, every individual must make his own vows and commitments; no one else can do it for him (though as a parent, I've often wished I could do it for my children). That said, why would you want to reject the vision and mission of godly parents?

What I want for my children more than anything else is that they would serve the Lord and the church. In a more particular way, I would like my children to be righteous unifiers and peacemakers. Writing this particular page has got me to thinking about this from a child's angle: I wonder what vision my parents had for me. Here I am, forty years old and I have never asked them that question. Dare I find out now?!

Many people cannot be trusted. Their promises are meaningless. Their words do not carry the weight of dependability. Tragically, some Christians are this way also.

How good is your word?

When you make a promise or a commitment, people should know that you will do all in your power to keep it, honor it and fulfill it. They should have the assurance that even if it means losses of some sort, you will not go back on your promise.

Another dimension to this subject is that of truthfulness in normal speech. When you speak (anytime and all the time), people should know that you will not knowingly utter the untruth. They should have the certainty that you will not mislead them ever, not even in jest.

So, how good is your word? Make it better if you need to!