What Will Your Children Remember About You?

Author: Steve Burchett

When my first child was just a baby, I’m sure my mindset was something like, “I might have 18 to 20 years with this gift from God. That’s plenty of time to train her up in the way she should go (Proverbs 22:6).” But the older she and her siblings get, the more I find myself saying, “Where has all the time gone? They are getting so big, so quickly!” I have yet to meet a conscientious parent who didn’t feel the same way.

Of course, the ultimate desire of believing parents is that their children become followers of Jesus Christ. This is an urgent matter that requires diligently teaching them God’s word, carefully exposing their sin, and faithfully proclaiming the gospel to them. In Paul’s words, we must “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

But is parenting only about words? I don’t think so. Most adults, when sharing memories of their parents, don’t typically remember too much of what their mom or dad said, but how they lived. For example, a son or daughter might say, “My dad was such a hard worker, he typically went to work even if he was sick,” or, “When my mom saw our ailing neighbor outside, she always stopped what she was doing to cheer her up.”

Here are two statements I hope my kids say about me when they grow up:

“My dad trusted in God to take care of our needs.”

Stress is normal for all of us. Work situations, financial difficulties, and physical troubles are just a few sources of potentially great anxiety. But God is powerful, and He is always faithful to His children. I want to live a life that demonstrates my belief in that.

The famous missionary to the cannibals, John Patton, was deeply influenced by his mother’s faith in God. He recorded one story about her “because of the lasting impression made upon my religious life.” ^[1] They didn’t have much when he was a boy. He remembers a season of “deep distress” because of a miniscule harvest. His father had even left the home to find work, and they were eagerly anticipating his arrival the following evening. However, they were very hungry now. Patton said his mother got all of the children to bed, “assuring us that she had told God everything, and that he would send us plenty in the morning.”

The very next day, not knowing their desperate situation, Patton’s grandfather sent them a bag of potatoes and “the earliest homemade cheese of the season.” Patton recalls, “My mother, seeing our surprise at such an answer to her prayers, took us around her knees, thanked God for His goodness, and said to us, ‘O my children, love your Heavenly Father, tell Him in faith and prayer all your needs, and He will supply your wants so far as it shall be for your good and His glory.’”

“My dad loved the local church.”

At one point during Jesus’ ministry, his mother and brothers came to take Jesus home—thinking he was “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21, 31-32). When they arrived to seize Jesus, He was teaching in a crowded house, so they sent for him. Mark recorded what happened next.

And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)

The family Jesus came to save—the group of people that did God’s will—took priority over even His biological family! Shouldn’t the same be true of us regarding our relationship to the local church? This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ever love and interact with our earthly family. But choosing to eagerly and whole-heartedly participate in the life and meetings of the church will affect how our children view the bride of Christ, and even Jesus Christ Himself. What are we really communicating to our children if we typically choose family parties or outings instead of the church meeting?

I am a pastor. So, perhaps you might then say, “Of course your kids will say that you loved the church!” Not necessarily. It is essential that they see me faithfully live out the “one anothers” of the New Testament. And if I want to leave a legacy of love for the church, it is critical that I talk about fellow church leaders and members with words full of love, respect, and appreciation.

When your children grow up, and they are asked, “Tell me about your dad,” or, “Tell me about your mom,” what do you think they will say?    

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[1] This story and all quotes are from John G. Paton, John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2007 [Reprinted]), 21-22.

Copyright © 2014 Steve Burchett.
Permission granted for reproduction in exact form. All other uses require written permission.
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Heavenly-minded, Courageous John Bradford

By Steve Burchett

What would inspire a man to fearlessly preach Christ and offer words of hope in the minutes just before he was burned to death on a stake? Consider the life, and death, of John Bradford.

John Bradford lived in Britain in the 16th century. He was born around 1510, converted in 1547, and he became a "roving chaplain" in 1550, rebuking sin and preaching Christ. Eventually, the rule in Britain was handed over to a rogue regime set against the gospel. The ensuing persecution was fierce, and Bradford was imprisoned because of his love for Christ. He was ultimately condemned to die by wicked men. Another believer, 19 year-old John Leaf, was to be killed beside Bradford. Finally, the day of their martyrdom arrived. Faith Cook tells what happened next:

Approaching the stake, both men fell on their faces in one brief moment of silent prayer. "Arise and make an end," said the sheriff impatiently, "for the press of the people is great." And so the martyrs were chained to the stake. Just moments before the fires were lit, John Bradford lifted up his face and hands in one last plea to his countrymen: "O England, England, repent thee of thy sins. Beware of false anti-christs; take heed they do not deceive you." He asked forgiveness of any he might have wronged and freely forgave those who so grievously offended against him. After begging the prayers of the people, he turned to address young John Leaf, his fellow-sufferer. The words are unforgettable: "Be of good comfort brother; for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night!"1

What gave John Bradford the courage to live, and die, for His Savior? Was he just a naturally gutsy guy? No, Bradford's courage was inspired by his knowledge of the eternal inheritance to come. Read again these words of Bradford to John Leaf: "Be of good comfort brother; for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night!" Because Bradford's mind was enthralled with future blessings in eternity, he was freed from the fear of man and the comforts of this world.

Even while Bradford was sitting in prison, his thoughts were on the joys of heaven. He wrote the following to his loved ones:

Ah! dear hearts, be not faint-hearted. Continue to walk in the fear of the Lord, as you have well begun. At the length we shall meet together in Christ's kingdom, and there never part asunder . . . O joyful place; O place of all places desired!2

John Bradford endured suffering and death for Christ because he knew and believed God's promises. He did what Peter charged his suffering readers to do: "Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13). Bradford was like Abraham who "by faith . . . lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land . . . for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:9-10, emphasis added).

Bradford understood and believed what those suffering Christians knew in Hebrews 10:34. Faced with the choice to either hide and avoid persecution, or visit fellow believers in prison and lose their goods, the author of Hebrews writes, "For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one" (emphasis mine). Like these believers, Bradford's fixation with heaven was the key to his courageous faith.

What was the impact of Bradford's life and death? Cook writes that he confirmed "by his death the truth of that doctrine he had so diligently and powerfully preached" and "inscribed the Reformation truths more deeply on the conscience of the nation."3 He had previously prayed that God would give him strength to glorify Him by his death. His prayer was answered.

John Bradford teaches us the importance of living in light of the hope that awaits us in Christ in heaven. By filling our minds with the truth about the blessings of eternity (which will take more than just a few minutes a day of meditation on Scripture!), we will be strengthened to live for Christ today. This means we must beware of bondage to anything this world has to offer, like the television, or computers, or supped-up technological gadgets. Those things are not wicked, but habitually overusing them will dull your affections for Christ and make you a selfish person who lives a cozy, Christ-denying, non-influential life.

"So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come." (Hebrews 13:13-14)

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1 Faith Cook, Singing in the Fire (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2008), 7-8.
2 Ibid., 6.
3 Ibid., 8.

Copyright © 2009 Steve Burchett. Permission granted for reproduction in exact form, including web address. All other uses require written permission.
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