Vulnerability

Vulnerable has 3 definitions or usages: to be susceptible to harm by a weapon; to be open to attack of moral character; and to have a position open or susceptible to attack. (it is also a bridge term for those who play) As parents we are vulnerable to a lot of attacks by our children. They can harm us greatly by their actions and by their words.

However we usually see this as a great weakness in our defenses. I see it as a great weapon for us to be wielded. One of the greatest truths you can teach your children is the human qualities of their parents. Though allowing your children to see you as vulnerable may scare you, because you think they will see it as an open door to criticize and run all over you. I see it as an opportunity to share the image of Christ to your children. Jesus did not withold His emotions and vulnerability to His disciples, He showed them what He was feeling. He wept when John was killed. He grew angry at the desecration of His Fathers House. He showed concern upon the cross for the well being of His mother.

Jesus being God, lowered Himself to our weaknesses by becoming flesh, making Himself vulnerable to His children to the point that we killed Him with our sin. Are we as parents willing to be as vulnerable in our dealings with our children?

Parenting Today

So how do we then reach Americas youth today? Do we spend time engaging in activity of entertainment value with teens? Do we try and allow them freedoms that they feel they deserve? Do we ignore them and hope they grow out of it? Parents today are struck with a difficult task of molding young men and women into productive useful members of both their home churces and the world. We desire for teenagers to: act like adults, do everything we demand, never complain, & become what we never could. I believe that perhaps we as Christians have demanded the wrong outcome of our youth groups. Parenting today is so difficult because parenting in the past has fallen short of the Biblical model passed down thru the word of God. I therefore do not blame society for the shortcomings of teens, and I don't blame their parents either. I blame us all for not being able to step aside- evaluate the situation in our congregations- and then take the necessary steps to begin the process of recapturing our identities in Christ. This will then pass down to our youth.