One question has haunted me since I became a follower of Christ: What does it mean to lead a Christian family? How do I do it? I really don't know. All I can say is that I am in the process of learning- but it is one of the most important things I have been charged to do in this world.
I think I took a big step towards answering that question on Monday night. For those of you who aren't part of Catalyst, we are at the beginning of a campaign called 40 Days of Change. This is a 40-day churchwide study of spiritual disciplines like study, prayer/fasting, submission, giving, simplicity, and celebration/worship.
Monday night, my family was sitting around the dinner table eating like we always do. For some reason, I blurted out, "After dinner, everyone go get your 40 Days devotional books and your Bibles and meet me back here." I got some strange looks, but everyone agreed to it.
After the table was cleared, all of us, including Sam (my 3-year-old), sat down and did the day's devotional on the spiritual discipline of study. We were quiet for about 5 minutes (which is a rarity in the Kibler house, believe me), and then we discussed what we had learned and what we had written. We looked up Bible verses together and memorized 2 Timothy 3:16 as a family. Then we had dessert.
I marveled as I watched my family, sitting down at the table, discussing the Bible and memorizing it. I couldn't help but think that God was pleased- a family that turned off the TV at night and instead sat together and learned what His Word had to say. I listened with joy as my 8-year-old said, "This is cool! I want to do this EVERY night!"
Now I am asking God a pretty tough question. "God, are you pleased with my family?" I wonder what He would say. If my family had been around in the time of Jesus, I wonder if my home would be a place where He would have chosen to stay. One thing is for sure- I have learned two things from jumping into the 40 Days of Change. One, I have learned the joy of sitting down as a family and practicing our faith together. Two, I have realized how much this has been missing in my family.
I am thankful for the grace of God- despite my failings and shortcomings as a father and husband, my kids still think it is really cool to sit around and learn the Bible. That is definitely more to God's credit than to mine. I look forward to seeing what else God does over the next 37 days.
Oh, by the way, we did the same thing last night as well. Then we went to Brusters for ice cream. It was a great night.
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