It’s official. We have a legally licensed, 16 year-old driver…and I’m old. Our oldest turned 16 on August 6th. So we scheduled her driving test for the morning of her birthday. I don’t really remember my driving test so maybe it’s not as big of an event as it feels in the moment, but I was nervous that a failed driving test would be embarrassing to her and ruin her birthday. But thankfully she did great and passed easily.
Back in March, I used the “teenage driver” as an illustration for my devotional, but I have to use it again today. It’s such a major change in the life of a parent and the life of the teenager, that it’s full of gospel lessons.
If you remember, Tiffany and I chose to go the parent-taught route for driver’s ed. It worked really well for our oldest, but it’s yet to be determined if that’s the route we’ll go with the others. Different temperaments and personalities may need a different approach. But as her driver’s test approached, and especially the morning of, I felt like I was as nervous as she was. I was beginning to realize that her ability to get her license rested mostly on our shoulders as her parents, and I didn’t want to be the reason that she didn’t get her license on her birthday. We had to make sure that we had done all of the proper paperwork. We had to make sure we had all of that paperwork with us at the test. And we had to make sure to teach her all that she needed to know for the test. I was feeling the pressure of all of this as we arrived at the DPS.
But that’s when the spiritual reality of the situation hit me. If I am feeling this much pressure about a driving test, shouldn’t I be more concerned about whether or not I am preparing her for the test and trials that she will face in life? As her parents, we are to teach her how to function in society, and as we do that, we teach her to love the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:5–7 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.
But don’t think that if you don’t have kids or if your kids are grown that this doesn’t apply to you. It applies to every believer. God has given us ‘one another’ to help us grow into maturity. The writer of Hebrews tells us to exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, (3:13) and to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works (10:24). Titus 2 tells the older men and women to teach the younger men and women how to live godly lives.
Don’t let the cares of this world distract us from what’s truly important. Parents, let’s devote ourselves to instilling Christian devotion in the lives of our kids by teaching and demonstrating Christian devotion to them. Wise believers, let’s use our wisdom and experience to encourage and even admonish younger believers to grow into spiritual maturity. There’s much more at stake than failing a driving test.
-Kendall Harris
Back in March, I used the “teenage driver” as an illustration for my devotional, but I have to use it again today. It’s such a major change in the life of a parent and the life of the teenager, that it’s full of gospel lessons.
If you remember, Tiffany and I chose to go the parent-taught route for driver’s ed. It worked really well for our oldest, but it’s yet to be determined if that’s the route we’ll go with the others. Different temperaments and personalities may need a different approach. But as her driver’s test approached, and especially the morning of, I felt like I was as nervous as she was. I was beginning to realize that her ability to get her license rested mostly on our shoulders as her parents, and I didn’t want to be the reason that she didn’t get her license on her birthday. We had to make sure that we had done all of the proper paperwork. We had to make sure we had all of that paperwork with us at the test. And we had to make sure to teach her all that she needed to know for the test. I was feeling the pressure of all of this as we arrived at the DPS.
But that’s when the spiritual reality of the situation hit me. If I am feeling this much pressure about a driving test, shouldn’t I be more concerned about whether or not I am preparing her for the test and trials that she will face in life? As her parents, we are to teach her how to function in society, and as we do that, we teach her to love the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:5–7 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.
But don’t think that if you don’t have kids or if your kids are grown that this doesn’t apply to you. It applies to every believer. God has given us ‘one another’ to help us grow into maturity. The writer of Hebrews tells us to exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, (3:13) and to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works (10:24). Titus 2 tells the older men and women to teach the younger men and women how to live godly lives.
Don’t let the cares of this world distract us from what’s truly important. Parents, let’s devote ourselves to instilling Christian devotion in the lives of our kids by teaching and demonstrating Christian devotion to them. Wise believers, let’s use our wisdom and experience to encourage and even admonish younger believers to grow into spiritual maturity. There’s much more at stake than failing a driving test.
-Kendall Harris
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