Blessing our adult children with the love of God

"The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace,” Numbers 6:24-26 NASB


This verse was referenced on a graduation card my daughter got this past week; I was blessed to have read it and to know her cousins cared enough to include this verse.    

As I reflected on this verse and the events of the past week; some of which were not pleasant, I began to think how God truly wants us to treat others.  The following is a post I put on facebook. “The fastest way to turn someone away from God; is to force God on them. The fastest way to bring someone to know the love of Jesus and to salvation is to love them the same way Jesus would love them. Jesus met people where they were in life He did not try and make them change before He would love them. “   God wants us to love one another as He loves us, He does not want us to try and control how another adult lives their life; that is not our place it is Gods. 

I wonder what would happen if more Christians used the above verse to exalt one another instead of tearing one another down?  I wonder what would happen if more of us got out of the way and allowed God to work in the lives of our adult children.  So often out of our love for our adult children we get in the way of what God wants to do in their life.  I am not perfect in this area but I do firmly believe it is best to encourage and lend a listening ear rather than tell another how they should live their lives.  Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13: 10 “I need not use severity in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not tearing down.”   I challenge anyone that may read this to build up and not tear down others; to reflect the love of God and not our love.  Bless one another and step out of the way and allow God to work in the lives of others.  Use God’s word and not our own words when giving advice on how we want our adult children to live their lives. 


2 Corinthians 13:11-14 tells us to “Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.  Great one another with a holy kiss.  All the saints greet you.  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. (NASB)


Next time you find yourself trying to control how your adult children live their life or are not happy with a choice or mistakes they have made; remember to step out of the way and allow God to do His work. 



(What if we have children that are living destructive lives?) I am hoping to have a blog about this too based on my own personal experience. (With the way I take so long to post this could turn into months before you see that post.)  J