One of the more lovable men on TV these days is a weatherman named Al Roker. You may have seen him on the "Today" show in the morning or hosting coverage of some special events or even on his own show. A recent article in Parade Magazine that quotes Al as saying that he weighed in at over 300 pounds - at only 5'8". Notice I said weighed in - that was past tense. After carrying around all those pounds for a while, he suddenly went out to a gym one day and asked them to put him on a diet and exercise program that would radically reduce his size. As of the writing of this article, he had lost 55 pounds! And what was it that suddenly got him wanting to do something about weight he had carried around for a long time? His young daughter came up to him one day when he had his shirt off and made a blunt, off-the-cuff observation about how he looked - the kind only a child can make in all innocence and get away with. That was it. Hello, gymnasium - goodbye, fat.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "My Child, My Mirror."
Our word for today from the Word of God takes us way back to near the beginning of the human race to a man named Enoch. God has some especially complimentary things to say about Enoch, and in Genesis 5:21-24, He reveals a change that took place in this man's life that could change the course of yours, too. The Bible says, "When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah." It says, "after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God." Notice the math - not just the longer life they enjoyed back then. Enoch lived for the first 65 years of his life with no mention of a relationship with God. Then, suddenly, he starts walking with God - and continues to have this intimate relationship with his Creator for the rest of his life. What was the catalyst that changed Enoch? The same thing that changed a chunky TV personality - his child. After he became a father, Enoch walked with God.
There is something about having a child that makes you start thinking about yourself in ways you may not have thought before. They are mirrors to us. As a dad or a mom trying to shape this life we have been entrusted with, knowing the dangers, the challenges, the consequences, we begin to see things we may have never fully seen before - like our own incompleteness or inadequacy, our baggage, our weaknesses that can now do serious damage to this vulnerable life in our hands, our own unmet needs, unanswered questions, unconquered sins. And suddenly we consider looking up as we may have never done before - and saying, "Help."
The good news is that God stands ready to answer our cry for help big time. In fact, He may have been waiting a long time for you to finally recognize that you are incomplete - and inadequate - and in need of what only He can be for a you - a Savior. Ultimately, our children show us the real weight we've been carrying all these years - the weight of our own self-centeredness, our unresolved issues, our dark side. Our sin. We can never walk with a perfect God carrying that. And being a mom or dad shows us as perhaps nothing else our deep need for this personal relationship with God we were made for.
In spite of our sin, God love us and He wants to walk with you. But that walk can begin only one place - the cross where God's one and only Son died to pay the death penalty you and I deserve. We did the sinning, but Jesus did the dying. The Bible says, "You who were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." Your walk with God begins when you say, "Jesus, I am putting all my trust in You to be my Savior."
If you're a mom or dad, there are feet now following you wherever you walk. For their sake - and for yours - be sure you're walking with God.