When Israel turned from God to worship the idols of Canaan, it wasn’t just about statues or shrines. It was about loyalty - about who they and their children ultimately belonged to. They offered their sons and daughters in fire to foreign gods. We read that and think, I would never do that. And yet, generation after generation, humanity keeps handing its children over - not to the fires of Molech, but to the fires of culture, ambition, comfort, and approval.
Our lives preach louder than our words ever will. We may say, “We belong to Jesus,” but what do our calendars, conversations, and choices say? When people think of us, do they think of our job title before our devotion? Our personality before our pursuit of holiness? Our success before our surrender? We don’t declare who we belong to only with our lips - we do it with our lives. Think of 3 people closest to you - what comes to mind first as you think of them?
Our children are watching. They see what gets our passion, what gets our anxiety, what gets our time. And slowly, without realizing it, they learn what matters most by watching what matters most to us. We may not lead our kids up to a stone idol, but we often lead them to modern ones - the idols of success, busyness, comfort, and self. We tell them they can be anything, but rarely tell them they can be holy. We teach them that constant activity is fruitfulness, while stillness with God is wasted time or 'boring'. We protect them from every discomfort, but not from the comfort that dulls their faith. We teach them to believe in themselves, yet not to die to themselves. Every altar promises fulfillment: jobs promise pay and promotion, relationships promise love and loyalty, instagrams promise likes and false connections but just like the idols of Canaan, these altars only take, they never give.
When our children mirror us, what reflection do we see? Do they look more like our schedules, our brand, our striving or more like the Jesus we say we love? If someone were to describe your home, your routines, your energy would they see Christ at the center or somewhere on the sidelines, waiting to be invited in? Because when the world looks at your family, it shouldn’t just see a hard-working parent or talented children. It should see the unmistakable fingerprints of the Father: love that loves all others as evidenced by patience, repentance (turning from sin), and joy.
The gospel invites us to break every false allegiance and reclaim what was always His. Our children are not our trophies - they reflect our stewardship. Our careers are not our identity, they are our mission fields. Our personalities are not our gospel, they are the vessels through which the gospel flows. Christ does not want to compete with your other loves. He can't. He won't. He wants to be the love that orders all others rightly. So today, let’s ask: Who do my children see me worship? What do my habits teach them about where life is found? Because at the end of all our days, it won’t matter who we worked for: only who we lived for.
The world is loud with altars that demand our children’s attention — education, entertainment, social media, identity. But one altar alone gives life: the cross. Every day we choose which altar to stand before.
May our lives, our homes, and our children’s futures all echo one truth: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
Stay tuned for the next blog on practical things we can do in the Ministry of Motherhood.
