The Sacrifice of Parenting

I recently finished reading Sacred Parenting: How Raising Children Shapes our Souls by Gary Thomas. I enjoyed it very much, and there were a few quotes in regards to the sacrifice of parenting that I wanted to share:

"We love to talk about the blessings of our faith, about God's provision and the gifts He gives to us - but an immature believer can receive all of these. It doesn't take alot of faith to accept God's generosity! But true spiritual maturity often reveals itself during the times God asks us to sacrifice. While we find it easy to "open up" a spiritual gift, it's not so easy to lay one down on God's behalf"

"Part of carrying out our parental responsibilities requires adopting the Christian posture of humility. However "important" we think we are, we should expect that God can do even more important things through our children. It is our duty to give them our full attention and our best effort, hoping they can build on this to become influential Christians themselves. It is shortsighted at best, and the height of arrogance at worst, for fathers and mothers to become so busy with their ministries and lives that they shortchange their children, forgetting that they have a responsibility to pass on to the next generation whatever advantages they have received."

"In many ways, sacrifice defines love... Words and feelings are the cheap currency of sentimentality; sacrifice is the backbone of true, biblical love: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)"

"Mothers and fathers, when you give your tiny infant a bath, you are washing God's baby... When you fix that hungry six-year-old a peanut butter sandwich, you are feeding one of God's children... When you hug an adolescent whom others have teased mercilessly at school, you are comforting God's teenager..."

"You could have rejected this child. You could have spurned the demands on your time, your resources, and your emotional well-being. But instead you accepted this child, through great pain you gave birth to this child, and with even greater pain you make sacrifices to love this child. Your heavenly Father doesn't miss a second of this sacrifice. He sees it all. He cries with you and He laughs with you and He takes great joy in the good work you are doing."

I recommend this book for a great view of the different aspects of parenting and how God uses them to transform us more to the image of His son, as well as how we are to impart His love to our children as a legacy for them to pass on. I was definitely challenged, encouraged, and blessed by it!