Regina 
You could never begin the work too early, but you can begin too late.
We all know that discipleship is not confined to predetermined boxes of time and schedule. To be sure, the wise commit daily time and schedule to the good work, yet they realize if we only practice our faith in neatly defined terms the Gospel might not properly seep into our lives the way it was created to.
Every single moment is ours to disciple diligently or not. We teach whether we intend to or not. Tell a child to be a reader but don’t read. Make them go outside but never to do so yourself. Encourage them to give to the poor but don’t put legs on it and show them how. Miss questions for busyness. And you’ll miss it. You will flat out miss giving them WHO they need.
Entertain yourself with Facebook, IG, Twitter, pick your pleasure, but don’t let it become poison. It won’t take long either and we will look back and see the moments we might have been singing hymns together, we sat alone watching memes. The minutes that could have been spent opening pages together were lost to iPad time. The hours that could have been used for study of God’s Word were all given to running here and there as if any activity merited more attention than God. This is a trick of the enemy. I’m not trying to guilt you, I’m just jealous enough for our children’s sake that we abandon this tragedy before it takes full effect. You might say, “Isn’t this all a bit much? What’s wrong with relaxing and indulging from time to time?” Perhaps nothing at all so long as this isn’t your all. the. time. You see…
Discipleship is lifestyle.
Lifestyle is daily choices, schedule, everything… how you dress and speak how you repent and change when you sin or neglect to. It’s whether you seek Christ in His Word daily or not. It’s how you talk to your husband, what you eat how you pray or fail to. Discipleship is the preoccupation of your life lived before your kids. It is not a book. It is not your church. It is not an activity or volunteer opportunity. It is not your parents or your friends. It is the life you live, however you live it, before little eyes that WILL do what you do every single time before they do what you say. I’m not being sensational when I say… everything rides on what you do NOW.
A QUESTION
Is Jesus easily the most talked about person in your week, the most imitated, the most exalted, the most revolved around? Everything that is obsessed over now sports, dance, music lessons, exercise, academics every single pursuit while they may all be done in worship of Christ, be certain none of them will ever be Christ. Good grades won’t save them. Entertainment won’t teach them. The discipline to master of whatever sport or talent will not deliver them. No amount of celebrity or praise of man should be traded for this… the approval of Christ, the holy nod of the Almighty, the praise that proceeds from His throne. Salvation is not earned, but faith works. Just ask James. Reward is graced to us, but there can be loss of it (1 Corinithians 3:11-15). Do not miss these pivotal moments in time. Time will not turn back no matter how our hearts might churn in hopes of regaining it.
They may become all we pray, and God forbid, they may not, but if the latter, let it not be because you did not teach them when they were yours to teach.
Are sports, dance, gymnastics, music lessons permissible, even beneficial? YES, they may be, for the Lord has given them all and all can be used in worship of Him, but the line is fine, and we must walk it carefully teaching our children to worship Christ above all else. Let the Words of the Lord into your day, prayer take over massive sections of your life, let the Lord permeate all the things, so that your children understand how to worship Christ in everything. Idols abound in this culture though they cannot be seen with the eyes.
Oh, that I could be the sounding of a siren in your day, one that cannot be silenced give your kids the world and they will be just like it. Give your kids Jesus, and they will be like Him. As for Chris & me, we prefer the latter. Do you?
