Voddie: Two Options For Parents

I was listening to a Voddie Baucham sermon the other day from this website (I can't remember which one now), and I came across this, and had to rewind it and re-listen about 85 times to be able to type out the exact quote, but I wanted to have it on paper to remember.

He's talking about the legacy we'll leave behind as parents... what we'll have done or accomplished in our lifetimes. I hope it challenges you like it did me.

"When I get outta here, there could be a couple of ways that I go.

Way number one? I could leave here saying, “I got mine. I got it all. My philosophy was, ‘get all you can, can all you get.’ And I got it! I’m there! I came, I saw, I conquered! It was AWESOME!”

Here’s the other possibility: My wife and I invest our lives in a relationship that is an illustration of the relationship with Jesus Christ and His church, and do the best that we can to spend the rest of our days together, bringing glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ through the way that we love, respect, honor, and cherish one another. And then, at the end of our lives, when we breathe our last, we will have raised a mob of children who have been brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, so that when the adversary sees me breathe my last, he does not say “phew! Don’t have to worry about that one anymore!”

Uh-uh… when I breathe my last, the adversary will see a MOB of godly children crawling over mom and dad, moving the line forward, further than I ever could have in my own life, with my own limited resources. So that when it’s all said and done, it’s not about ME and what I experienced… it’s not about ME and how satisfied I was with what I accumulated and acquired, but it is about a godly heritage and godly legacy that has been left behind because we grasped and understood and walked in the design of this thing that we call marriage. THAT’s what I’m choosing.


So, that challenges me to ask myself, "what am I choosing? Today? This year? What am I choosing for our marriage, for our family, for our children? What am I choosing to be and pour into my husband and into my children? What and who am I going to leave behind to continue this unseen battle against the enemy? Am I living out this kind of life-purpose perspective in my actions today?"

Any thoughts?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. Now THAT is a challenge!

Thanks so much for posting. :)

-Lauren

Anonymous said...

My DH has a CD of one of his sermon's and it is awesome. It would be great if every baby came with one for the parents. I don't know what the title is but it's very convicting, motivating and encouraging. Thanks for the site.

Anonymous said...

In case anyone is interested, the message I was talking about was titled "Multigenerational Faithfulness". I saw it listed on the website you linked.

Kimberly said...

Perfect timing on your post! It's like God lead me to your site!
I've been having a pity party regarding my stunted career due to my children (don't worry, this only happens a few times a year). God used you to remind me where he wants me now! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Oh, this has been much on my heart lately, about what really matters in the doings of the day to raise up godly children. I just wrote about "The One Thing That Matters" on my blog; and ultimately, for me, it is that my children love God. Everything else either flows from that or leads right into it.

Voddie is awesome. Powerful speaker, gentle spirit.
Good stuff.

Blessings,
Keri

Jess Connell said...

Thanks, Fay, for the sermon title- I hope that will help someone else if they're wanting to hear it in context!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for using Voddie's words to encourage us again. In late November-early December you had another post about Voddie and his new book, "Family Driven Faith." I got it for Christmas and it is a MUST read. You will be challenged!

Kari

deb said...

I have never heard of this man. I will have to look him up.

By the way, I am trying to get all the canidates platforms on my website. I think that I might put Hucakbee's up this afternoon. If I do maybe you can look and tell me if I missed anything. :)

{Life Is Good} said...

Great post! Thank you for challenging me today. I am currently making some changes and decisions for this very same reason. As a former working mother and current work at home mom I can constantly struggling to find the right balance between wife, mother, volunteer, work.

Elspeth said...

Jess, once again you have found the words (although quoted from Voddie Baucham) to perfectly sum up the heart of the matter. I will make a point of listening to this message at some point this week!

Anonymous said...

Yes, that is very challenging to me as a mom of 3. I'll be honest though sometimes it feels like Voddie's thinking ignores the fact that there's a whole "mob" of people out there that aren't necessarily his children, but that are just as teachable and ready to be discipled. I hope we don't hole ourselves up in our homes with our children when we could be molding them with one hand and discipling folks around us with the other. That is the legacy I want to leave to my children. And obviously Voddie is pouring his life into those of others (like us) but I hope we all realize that it doesn't stop with our kids, it's got to go beyond that. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. -Allison

Janice said...

I am glad you rewound it 85 times ! I loved it, and very much agree! We have an adversary, and if we hope to make a dent, we must enlist others in the fight! I claim my children for the cause of God's Kingdom... my I be faithful to pray to that end! Thanks!

{Life Is Good} said...

Kari-Thanks for your tip on the Family Driven Faith I will definately be checking it out.
Allison-I have to disagree with your view of Voddie's sermon. I don't think his point is to hole ourselves up with our children. But rather brilliantly describes the order of focus God created. God, husband, children, and then the Godly legacy that will greatly effect the world. I love his idea of moving the line forward, and multiplying resources by sharing our Godly children with this hurting world. My guess would be that Voddie considers reaching out to others as a natural element of raising Godly children.