I thought this picture was a very powerful illustration of how important the home is nurturing the roots of our “budding flowers”—our children . . . Enjoy this additional excerpt from It Starts at Home by Kurt Bruner and Steve Stroope:
Imagine four budding flowers representing my four children. I gently cradle them in my hand, careful to protect the delicate roots reaching out from the narrowing tips at the bottom of each stem. Aware of their need for the living water of the gospel, I bring to a watering can called the local church where pastors, Sunday School teachers, and student pastors pour the life-giving nourishment of the good news onto their lives. But the water simply drips off the sides of my hand, failing to penetrate the dangling roots of their thirsty hearts.
Concerned, I urgently look for another solution. Fearing my children will wither and die unless I find a more effective means of imparting strong faith, I grab a bigger, more contemporary-looking watering can—one with cutting-edge music and a cool-looking student pastor—hoping it will more effectively reach my kinds. But the heavy flow of water just splashes onto the ground.
Obviously, the problem is not with the size or style of the watering can. Roots only grow if planted in soil. Yet an entire generation of parents seems to have missed God’s design. Faith must be nourished in the rich soil of a God-honoring family. The church’s role is to prove the water. But lifelong faith requires deep, abiding roots.
Let’s make sure our budding flowers are firmly planted in the rich, God-honoring soil of our own homes!
Imagine four budding flowers representing my four children. I gently cradle them in my hand, careful to protect the delicate roots reaching out from the narrowing tips at the bottom of each stem. Aware of their need for the living water of the gospel, I bring to a watering can called the local church where pastors, Sunday School teachers, and student pastors pour the life-giving nourishment of the good news onto their lives. But the water simply drips off the sides of my hand, failing to penetrate the dangling roots of their thirsty hearts.
Concerned, I urgently look for another solution. Fearing my children will wither and die unless I find a more effective means of imparting strong faith, I grab a bigger, more contemporary-looking watering can—one with cutting-edge music and a cool-looking student pastor—hoping it will more effectively reach my kinds. But the heavy flow of water just splashes onto the ground.
Obviously, the problem is not with the size or style of the watering can. Roots only grow if planted in soil. Yet an entire generation of parents seems to have missed God’s design. Faith must be nourished in the rich soil of a God-honoring family. The church’s role is to prove the water. But lifelong faith requires deep, abiding roots.
Let’s make sure our budding flowers are firmly planted in the rich, God-honoring soil of our own homes!
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