Make “Facebook” your “Word”

    While driving to my office this morning, I was listening to KLOVE radio. Eric and Lisa (the morning hosts) were encouraging everyone to choose one word to define 2011 as it pertains to their walk with Christ. Apparently, this practice originated with a pastor and his wife who have done this for many years. The idea behind the practice is that we should pray and ask the Lord for the word (yes, it is one single word) that will help us accomplish the work that He has for us in 2011.    

     Eric and Lisa have been discussing the “word” for at least a week. During that time they have shared a number of “words” that readers have entered on the KLOVE website along with a short personal story telling why they believe that their particular word is from God.

    This morning I was a little annoyed when Lisa once again began telling why “clear” was the word God had given her. I wasn’t really relating to any of this and was beginning to ponder turning the channel when Lisa shared a “word” from one of their listeners. The word is “Facebook” and the listener said that she had chosen it because God had shown her that in 2011 He wants her to keep her face in His book! That really got my attention and made me feel ashamed that I had doubted that a single word could transform lives.

     Most Christians recognize the importance of daily Bible reading. We have had daily Bible reading in our home since 1970, and I believe that it was the single most important thing that we did for our children. Lately, however, it has come to my attention that many Christians do not read the Bible every day. Even if they expect their children to have Bible study and devotional time individually, they do not read the Bible aloud together as a family with mandatory participation by all children—no matter what their ages.

     We parents worry so much about the godless direction that our society has taken, but we sometimes forget that unless our children really know God’s Word, one direction will seem about as good to them as another. Because so many Christians are unwilling to commit to a daily Bible reading, we see a shocking lack of understanding about who God is and what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Unless our children know how Jesus lived His life and how He reacted to sin and sinners, they cannot hope to know how to live their lives.

     Your children will not always make good choices, and they will sometimes disappoint you, but if you fill them with the Word of God, they will know the truth. The funny thing about the truth is that once they know it, they can never separate themselves from it. They may wish that it were not the truth, and they may live their lives for a while as if it were not the truth, but, in the end, Truth will always win.

     This year let’s all pledge to make “Facebook” our word. If we will be faithful to keep our faces and the faces of our children in His book, we will find that it will be much easier to accomplish those things that God has for us and our families in 2011.