Purposed Parent Connected Child Podcast Episode 093 - Why Good Isn't Enough for God
Welcome to the Purposed Parent/Connected Child podcast – Episode 093 – Why Good Isn’t Enough for God
Thank you for sharing your day with me. I pray this podcast deepens your walk with Jesus and your children, equipping you to become a set-apart woman and mother.
I can’t believe most schools are already back in session! When that happens, it feels like summer is over. Ahh. It breaks my heart. This time of year is certainly the most challenging for me. No other season holds my heart quite like summer. Even though I don’t find the heat and humidity easy to handle anymore, I’m always disappointed when summer days move out and are replaced with crisper, cooler air. Although I realize I’m in the minority, I desire summer days to make up most of the year.
Since we know nothing lasts forever, seasons are a beautiful reminder of why we must live with eternal perspective. Have you had days, weeks, or years of life that you want to last forever? Or maybe right now you feel the opposite. Do you wonder how much longer you have to endure the season you’re experiencing?
Everyone knows change can be good. Change can become the catalyst that moves us to be in sync with the next transformation God has for us. I distinctly remember a time I’m glad I experienced a shift in thoughts and actions. There was a period in my life when I wanted to make sure I was a good person. A good woman. A good wife. A good daughter. A good mother. As my relationship with Jesus matured, I understood that limiting myself to “good” was “ungodly.” God calls believers to a much higher standard than good.
Good isn’t good enough for God.
It’s true that in the beginning when God created, He exclaimed that what He made was good. However, God proclaimed His creations to be good, not that we individually or collectively are. What I mean is that what God created is by Hisintelligent and perfect design. Of course, anything He makes is good. Yet, in this sinful, fallen world, it didn’t take long for God’s creations to choose what appeared to be good – when it reality it was sin.
Without Christ indwelling us, we continue to move farther from God. We shift farther away from what God defines as good. What the Creator of heaven and earth calls good must actually be godly. Without the Holy Spirit within us, there is no perfection or godliness. In fact, we are unable to claim the status of “good,” let alone “godly.” So how do you and I move away from desiring a good life to building a godlylife?
Only through Christ.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Once we realize our need for God, we begin to understand the need for His perfect Son, Jesus to pay the price for our sin. Once we realize our need for a Savior, and accept the free gift Jesus offers, we are able to live with His Holy Spirit within us. We are no longer bound to the world and sinful temptations. Through relationship with Christ, the Holy Word, and prayerful conversations with God, we can experience a shift from good to godly. That is, if we are intentionally seeking Him in a humble, obedient, close connection moment by moment.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Every world religion, exceptChristianity, teaches that eternal life comes through good works of some sort. As the verse I shared from Ephesians shows, salvation is a gift from God extended through His son, Jesus Christ.
When we ponder the question of how to move from good to godly, we must assess who or what defines godliness. Only the Creator of all things can define what is good or godly. God’s standard is holy. Godliness, not goodness is His desire. He is the One who sets the definition. He set the price of eternal life. He is the One who extends salvation, allowing each of us a choice.
Our motives and what we desire must be held up to a mirror, so to speak, as we look at how our goals are reflected against what God calls for us in His holy Word. We must take what wecall good and measure it to see if it may be called holy. Until we reconcile with what God sees as godliness, not goodness, we continue to fall short of what He calls.
My heart fills with joy when I remember when my first set of children were raised and before my husband and I knew that God was calling us to adopt a sweet baby from China. We didn’t know yet that we had a baby daughter waiting for us. At that time, I was experiencing much deeper growth in my spiritual walk with Christ. Slowly by slowly, I had allowed God greater access to me. I wish I could profess to be one of those people who surrender fully in the moment they accept Christ, but the truth is that each of us have varying degrees of surrender throughout our lifetime. We never reach that finish line in this life. We are so very far beneath God, so far from Him, that our lifetime must be focused on pursuing deeper relationshipwith Him and continuing to surrender self.
As my relationship with Jesus deepened and widened, I thought back to when my husband and I had raised our first two children. I was not a Christian when my first two were born. Although I came to follow Jesus when they were young, I wasn’t well discipled. I wasted so many years trying to make “good” choices, but not striving to be godly.
Would you like to know my deepest regret? Although my children always heard about Jesus, and knew I loved and followed Him, I did not know to intentionally disciple them moment by moment in the everyday process of life. I didn’t yet understand that the Christian walk is a beautiful relationship between God and man. I didn’t understand the command in Deuteronomy 6:5-9, which says, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
I assumed that what I was doing to teach my children about Jesus was enough. In reality, they were learning my limited faith, since I was not growing as well as I should have been. Since they weren’t being discipled well, they modeled a portion of my faith instead of chasing Christ and forming a growing personal walk with Him.
How are you pursuing Christ? Is He directing every aspect of your parenting – whether your children are young or grown? The story I share about raising my first set of children is common. Be sure it doesn’t become the story you give your children.
As my husband and I grew our walk with Jesus, we knew with certainty that God was calling us to travel to China to bring home the baby girl He had waiting to be ours. Before we went, we prayed together daily for the girl she would grow to be. Our heart desired that she be a light for Jesus, that she pursue Him with a pure heart, and that she would be an inspiration for others to follow Him. We asked God specifically for that result.
I remember the days I worked backwards to formulate a plan to raise her with very godly goals. Ten years later when we returned to China to bring home our last child, the “master plan” for raising our girls for Christ had been practiced, and our youngest enabled us to continue the course with another beautiful soul to nourish for Jesus.
Although there are so many important details I’m not including here, this story is so important to me, because our second step into parenting with a new generation of children was very intentional. My mind and heart were anchored on Christ through all obstacles. My husband and I committed to stand on that firm foundation. When deep waters swirled around us, when tragedy and troubles plagued our home, we tightened our grip on that three-fold cord that kept God in the center of all. No matter what happened, we remained committed to raising our girls and influencing our grown son and grandson for Christ.
Each of us must continue to examine our lives, seeking more of Him and less of self. We must make Him known to our children in ways that cause them to pursue godliness over goodness. We must knit together that close relationship with us and Jesus. A relationship that enables them to pursue with eagerness a life that makes godly over good choices because they love and respect God and want to honor Him.
It doesn’t matter how good a parent you want to be or are. God calls you and me to be holy, godly mothers. There is nothing greater we can do than fix our heart and mind above. Focus on the methods given by God to raise children for Him.
If we don’t purposely lead our children to Christ, the world will sway them away. We must be focused on living godly lives through Christ so our children clearly see Him through us and desire Him for themselves. We must deepen our connection with our children through Christ and enable them to seek Hisapproval over ours or peers.
Remember, your child’s deep connection with Christ begins with your personal walk with Jesus. God’s holy, perfect Word tells us that we don’t earn grace through works or anything we do on our own. Our children must also be taught this truth. They must see us live with joyful expectation of pleasing God and growing our walk with Christ moment by moment. They must be shown how to do so. They must see how to make godly life choices insteadof what society calls good. We know good isn’t enough for God. We can’t reach His heart through good works or thoughts. Set your children up for a lifetime walk with God through Jesus by the way you mentor Him with godliness and truth.
Think of the end of your life, the end of your children’s lives. What will they look like? How are you going to get there? Is the route you’re taking a good one? Or are you living and leading a godlylife for your children to follow to the Father’s feet?
Dear Heavenly Father, You alone are holy. You alone are greater than the good we desire. Move us from good to godly in the ways You know we need. Help us to be more and more pleasing to You each moment. May our heart and mind be in sync with Your desires for us as we move ever nearer to You. Father, I thank you for Your Word, Your perfect guidance. May we understand You better and please You more as we read and act in obedience to it. May we stop trying for good and strive to be godly. May we end each day more Christlike than the one before as we remember the words Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” May His godliness influence every act and decision we make and the way we mentor You to our children. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Raising children is challenging. No one has all the answers because each child is unique as are parenting styles and family dynamics. By connecting with and knowing your children as you maintain purposed growth in Christ, you will be better prepared for any situation you face.
That’s why you hear me share about the Set-Apart Collective in this podcast. Supporting and encouraging mothers to rest in Christ and pursue a holy relationship with Him so they purposely raise set-apart children is the cry of my heart. Godly parenting is rooted in relationship with Christ and the mindset a mother carries. If you don’t want peers and culture to be the main influence over your child, if you desire to parent to “prepare” your child for eternity with Christ, not repair your relationship with them, the Set-Apart Collective will deepen your walk with Christ. You’ll learn a Christ-centered Motherhood Mindset Model™, and create a Purposed Parenting Plan™. You will be a purposed mother with an intentional mind and heart set on Christ and your family. Send me an email at info@terrihitt.com to let me know you’d like to receive information or look online at terrihitt.com/setapart. We can also set up a no obligation, strategic 15 minute call to chat about your needs to see if the program is a right fit for you. It’s time for believing mothers to be purposed in preparing their children for a lifetime pursuit of Christ. Time is short. Make yours matter for eternity.
Because you’re a podcast listener, let me know if you’re ready to invest in the future of your children. If you tell me you heard about the special price I offer on this podcast, I will give you a big discount because I want you to experience results. Instead of a $997 value, I’ll give you a discount code that enables you to pay only $247. If you are serious about parenting with eternal perspective and raising children to chase Christ over culture, I’m making this very affordable and easy to do.
Also, if you appreciated this episode, would you please rate and review the podcast on Apple or Spotify? It only takes a few minutes and makes a big difference in whether people are able to find the podcast. Also, you and I know that the best reviews are by word of mouth, so please choose a friend to recommend the show to. Imagine the changes we will see in the way mothers parent for Christ if they learn to be intentional, too.
One last thing to remember - if you’re not purposed in knowing Jesus and showing Him to the next generation, the world will likely sway your children away from Christ. I pray that what you hear on this podcast enables you to stop being a good mom and focus on being a godly parent. Until next week, keep looking Up while focusing on new ways to parent with eternal purpose and connection with your children and Christ.