Heartland Focus

Last week I shared that God is watching His children grow and mature, like a Master Gardener. Isaiah 61:3 calls God’s people “a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor” and Isaiah 60:21 God says we are “the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands.” I described our Heavenly Father as a “garden walker,” as one who lovingly examines young hearts and lives to see what is sprouting, how well things are growing, if weeds are competing with His good seed, and if the bugs of sin and distress are causing harm.

August is a month when gardens are being harvested and we begin enjoying the fruit of our labors from May and June. I enjoy gardening because I love to watch living things sprout, develop and bear fruit. Perhaps that is part of the reason that I enjoy being a principal at Heartland Christian Academy in Bemidji. This is my fifth start of school there, and I have had the privilege of watching little fourth graders become 8th grade young men and women of God. I believe that God is watching His children grow and mature, as well.

The awesome experience of summer Bible Camp is a time when many children have the ultimate experience to get into a Christian environment, experience some independence from home, and learn to spiritually fly. Some of my earliest and best spiritual memories center around the Bible camp experience. Everyone from the counselors and keynote speakers to the camp handyman had an impact on me that I will never forget.

Last week I was sharing with you about the kind of independence that we should be fostering in our precious children. You recall the verse, Proverbs 22:6… “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” There is much work to be done and much wisdom required between the “train” and the “go.”