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Marriage & Family

October 10th, 2024

More Than a Parent

Throughout Kaden’s toddlerhood, Shaylee’s infancy, elementary school, Jonathan’s adoption, and even today, it can be difficult to see ourselves as more than just parents.

But our identity is not in our children, and the role of a parent is much more than diapers and burps, driving lessons, and curfews. God has given us a privilege and an opportunity to be His partner in raising disciples.

We have been challenged and encouraged by Paul David Trip’s book Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family, in which each chapter addresses the heart issues of both parent and child, bringing the Gospel into our most treasured relationships.

Excerpt from chapter 5: Identity Principle
If you are not resting as a parent in your identity in Christ, you will look for identity in your children. “Now there are three things to say about trying to get your identity from your children. First, it is a very natural thing to do and a very hard thing to fight. In fact, probably every parent falls into this trap in some way. Second, parenting is a miserable place to look for identity. Think about it: you are parenting lost, rebellious, foolish, blind, self-ruling sinners. I’m not picking on your children. I have just described every fallen human being born into God’s world. Third, it is a crushing burden for your children to have to get up every morning and carry the heavy load of your identity and meaning and purpose and all the expectations and demands that flow from it. No child will carry that load well.
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