TLP 46: How to Be Jesus to Your Kids

Truth.Love.Parent.

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Just as Christ is an example for us, we should be an example to our children of what it looks like to conform to His example.

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Welcome to Truth. Love. Parents. Where we use God's Word to become intentional premeditated parents.

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Here's your host, A .M. Brewster. God has given me so many unique experiences in the past 10 years of ministry, but one of the most challenging was being asked to portray our

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Lord on stage for an Easter Passion play. It's what I call the impossible role.

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As a human actor, I have a chance, though infinitesimally small, to accurately portray

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George Washington. I have no idea how he talked or walked or smiled, but there's a statistical probability that I could accidentally perform him perfectly.

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However, there is no chance at all that I could portray Christ perfectly.

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Aside from the fact that I'm a pasty -skinned redhead, how could I, a sinner, hope to accurately portray the

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Lord of Glory? He is 100 % man, true, but He's also 100 % God, and there's nothing

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I can do to touch that. But over the course of 10 years, I received many opportunities to try.

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I believe I've portrayed Christ in over 100 shows across multiple cities in two states for three different productions, and every single one of those performances and the countless rehearsals were just absolutely overwhelming.

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Every year, I immerse myself in the Gospels just to try to understand a little bit better how He spoke and interacted with people, but more importantly, why

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He did what He did. But why am I talking about this on a parenting podcast? That's a fantastic question, and its answer has massive impact on your family.

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Aside from the physical metamorphosis required for me to portray Jesus on stage, I believe

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I have changed even more as a follower of Christ because of it. I remember the very first year.

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I remember when this realization hit me. I thought to myself, every Christian has been commanded by God Himself to portray

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His Son on the stage of our lives. And we'll talk a little bit more about what that means in a little bit, but for me, the stakes were very high because I knew that thousands of people were going to see the performance every year, and each of them would have their own preconceived notions of how

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Jesus acted. But beyond that, I was really performing just for an audience of one, and the weight of that was far greater.

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Well, how is that any different from what God expects from each of us? I would argue that playing

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Jesus every Easter was comparatively easy to the daily task we all have of portraying

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Christ to the world. You see, even the word Christian betrays our calling.

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We're to be miniature Christs. Every day, God expects us to be growing in our sanctification.

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Every day, we're to be more conformed to the image of Christ. We're supposed to be talking more like Him, thinking more like Him, and acting more like Him.

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And when it comes to being an ambassador parent, even our own personal parenting goals and aspirations need to be overshadowed by His desires.

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When it comes to your children, God wants you to be Jesus to them. Let me share with you just some of the insights

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I believe are extremely important for every Christian parent who has been called to emulate their

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Lord, and that's all of them. First of all, as I played Jesus on stage, I learned, and I understood a little bit better, that Jesus was perfectly bold, especially given

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His earthly age. I remember the first time I played Him, I was twenty -eight. In preparation for the role,

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I consulted many pastors in hopes of gleaning helpful insights, but the most dramatic revelation I had when conversing with them was that each of the men

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I spoke with was significantly older than I. I then realized that the religious leaders in Jesus's day would have been equally as old, if not older.

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Then I imagined today's pastors hearing me in almost thirty -something proclaim to be

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God. I'd received enough condescension in my life to realize that what Jesus had to do was extremely difficult, not simply because He was turning conventional wisdom on its head and manifesting

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His deity, but because He was so young as a man. If God's called you to be a parent,

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He's called you to be a bold one regardless of your age. Parenting can be scary, and it's amazing how daunting it is to mold little lives.

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But don't let your age or the comparative inexperience distract you from the reality that if God's called you to the task,

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He will equip you. As you portray Christ to your family, you must boldly speak His truth and His love.

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2. I learned that He was perfectly wise. Jesus knew exactly what to say and when to say it.

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He wasn't distracted by His audience's rabbit trails. He always spoke directly and immediately to their deepest need.

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When the woman at the well tried to distract Jesus with racial, political considerations, He pinpointed her sin and need of a

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Savior. When Martha rushed out to Him after Lazarus' death, His first words weren't empty platitudes of sympathy.

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He replied, Your brother will rise again. When Nicodemus made the observation that Jesus had to be from God because of His miracles,

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Jesus just skipped the pleasantries and said, You must be born again. Every day, you will be tempted to miss the most important issues, speak the least important words, and participate in the less -than -important tasks.

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Stay focused. As you exemplify Christ to your family, do your best to employ God's wisdom.

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Choose carefully your words and activities so that they fulfill God's purposes of the moment. That might mean pretending to be the tickle monster, but even then, you still need to be intentional.

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3. He was perfectly focused. Whether He was 12 years old in the temple or 33 years old on the cross,

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His sole goal was to fulfill God the Father's will. As we strive to become the fifth parent, we should be mirroring

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Jesus in His constant submission to the will of His Father. It's as if Christ didn't have any personal ambitions. His sole desire was to do everything

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God the Father sent Him to do. What about you? What about in your parenting today? Is your highest goal to be the parent

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God wants you to be? 4. He was perfectly loving. It became a running joke over the first few years of The Passion Play that I had to make sure to touch everyone

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I could on stage at any given time, whether I was placing a hand on a shoulder, picking up a child, healing someone who was blind, or giving a hug.

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I needed to be touching someone. This desire to be physically connected with people grew out of the fact that I knew

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Jesus would have loved these people with His whole being. It made all the sense in the world that if He loved them that much,

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He would connect with them and, of course, gladly die for them. Are we selfish parents?

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Are our kids a nuisance? Do they get in the way? Is it annoying trying to teach your stubborn first grader to read?

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Does it make you angry when your teenager snubs your curfew? If so, you're not doing a good job being

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Jesus to your kids. The beautiful thing about love is its humility. You cannot love another while considering your own interests.

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Humility doesn't think lowly of itself, it just doesn't think of itself at all. It's too busy doing for others—serving, sacrificing, giving, helping, teaching, encouraging, and spending.

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We've been called to portray our Savior's love to our families. 5.

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He was perfectly joyful. The first, but definitely not the last, criticism I received for my portrayal of Christ came after the very first performance in 2009.

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A gentleman stopped me and said that though he enjoyed the performance greatly, he believed Jesus was probably more serious and grave than I had performed

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Him. I thanked the man for his insights and then politely explained that as I reflected on who Jesus was,

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I realized that He was not only perfectly holy and just and wise, He was also perfectly joyful.

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Would someone with an infinite source of divine contentment, joy, and peace never smile?

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Is it possible He never joked with His disciples? I think not. What about your parenting?

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Are you a joyful parent? Are you easy to be around? Do you light up your home? Or are you the shadow that gets cast over nearly every meal?

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Do the children secretly dread the hour you return home? This is not to be.

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We have been saved from sin and death. We've been given new life, filled with God Himself, offered grace unmatched and mercy undeserved.

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We've been handed everything we need for life and Godliness and given blessings beyond measure. God has given us this family.

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How dare we not be joyful. 6. He was perfectly serving.

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Christ's entire ministry was one of service. Everything He did, everything He did, He did for others.

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Coming to the earth, casting out demons, healing sickness, preaching, washing, dying, rising, it was all done out of obedience to the

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Father and a sacrificial service to the people He ministered to. This is a more specific application of the earlier observation that Jesus did everything

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He did for others, starting with His Father. Are you a servant parent or a boss parent?

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Do you lead your family in following Christ or do you lead your family in following you? Are you the first or the last to roll your sleeves up and get your hands dirty?

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It doesn't have to be just chores, though. Do you serve your family by being present and available to them? One of Jesus' greatest acts of service was simply

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His availability. Even when His disciples took Him to the other side of the sea in order to mourn the passing of His cousin, when confronted with a multitude of people,

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Jesus ministered to their needs all day long. What about you? 7.

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Lastly, and most uncomfortably, He was perfectly exemplary for us.

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Whether we're playing Him on stage or not, we have the responsibility to be just like Him.

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Romans 8 .29 says, For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.

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The passage continues by laying out for us God's eternal purpose for His children. He predestines, calls, justifies, and will eventually glorify us.

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This whole process is designed to transform us into the image of His Son. When we're finally glorified, we'll be as much like Him as we possibly can be.

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Yet, in the meantime, we're to be consistently being changed into His image, and this is called progressive sanctification.

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Just as Christ is an example for us, we should be an example to our children of what it looks like to conform to His example.

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If we're not doing it, how are they supposed to learn? And if your first thought was, they're pastors and teachers, then

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I don't think you understand the purpose of your calling. That first year, again, as I mentioned earlier,

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I made the observation that everyone should have the opportunity to portray Christ on stage because that's exactly what we're supposed to do in real life anyway.

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We're supposed to say what He would say, the way He would say it, for the reasons He would say it all the time.

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So what are the implications for our families? Well, first of all, what if we were bolder in our proclamations?

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Well, we would be far more passionate about our Lord regardless of the age of our children, or their level of obedience, or even our level of competency and experience.

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We'd also find it easier to be a good example to other parents regardless of their ages. What if we thought and analyzed in line with Christ's wisdom?

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Well, the rabbit trails and failure philosophies wouldn't distract us or cause us to stumble. God's wisdom would perfectly answer each parenting situation, and if we plumbed its depth, we wouldn't needlessly flounder in our culture's

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Disney -esque worldview and pre -pagan mindset. What if we were focused on the mission of our Father instead of being distracted by the temporary and sinful foolishness of this life?

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If Christ's one goal was to fulfill the will of the Father, why are sports and relationships and diplomas and careers all so consumingly important to us?

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With a sanctified life goal like that, we could continue the Apostles' ministry of turning this world upside down, and we could start with our children.

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What would change in our relationships if we loved like Christ loved? Well, goodbye arguments, gossip, bad advice, and weathercasting small talk.

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Hello prayer, intentional edification, wise counsel, significant discussion, and life -changing intimacy.

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What if our lives were categorized by joy? Imagine the griping, complaining, whining, and general discontentment that would disappear from your home.

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Imagine now what would necessarily have to take its place. What if we served our family as Christ did?

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Think of the bridges that would be built. Consider the example that would be shown. Imagine the work that would be accomplished.

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And what if we were the same example to others that Jesus is to us? Spiritual multiplication produces faster than any math equation.

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We have a nearly captive audience in our children. How much will they benefit from seeing Christ in us?

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I don't know if the Lord will afford me the opportunity to portray Him again, but whether He does or not, I purpose to be bold, wise, focused, loving, joyful, serving, and exemplifying just like He was, and I suggest you do the same.

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Don't forget to swing on over to evermindministries .com for today's episode notes, and please join us next time as we discuss creating some sanctified sustainability in your home.

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Did you hear that TLP is now on Twitter? Well, we are, and you can find us at TruthLoveParent.

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I know, big surprise. You can also follow us on Facebook and me on Twitter at AM Brewster.

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And it's been a little while since I encouraged you to head over to iTunes to subscribe and share, listen and learn, rate and review.

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I love sharing your reviews with all the premeditated parents out there because your reviews help us meet more parents who want to be

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God's ambassadors in their homes. Remember, Easter is a miraculous season, but don't miss how

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Christ's life, death, and resurrection was designed in part to conform your parenting into His glorious image.

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Truth. Love. Parent. is part of the Evermind Ministries family and is dedicated to helping you become an intentional, premeditated parent.

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Join us next time as we search God's word for the truth your family needs today.