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Home::Family
Do You Have A Vision?
Author : Craig Binkley
Do You Have A Vision? 2004 © Born-Again Bargains
Here’s one of the most important questions you’ll ever be asked
(that is, If you’re a dad, or you ever plan to be): Do you have
a vision for your family?
Now I know the answer for many of you will be a resounding,
“Yes!”. I think at some point all of us most likely plan, in
some way, for our family’s future.
What I am asking, however, is this: “Do you have a
MULTI-GENERATIONAL vision for your family?”
Now that throws a different light on the question, huh?
Allow me to define what I mean by “multi-generational”. The
first part of the word is “multi”, which is derived from
“multiple”, meaning to consist of more than one part. Next we
have the word “generational”. This is a form of the word
“generation”, which is the relationship of a child to his
parents (i.e. a son is the first generation of his father, while
a grandson is the second generation and so on). So when I ask if
you have a “multi-generational vision”, I am in effect asking if
you possess a vision for your children, their children, and
their children’s children.
Many people will have stopped reading this article at this
point, possibly because they feel that their great grandchildren
(they may not have even been born yet) have nothing to do with
how they live their own life now. I beg to differ—and hope you
will continue reading. If you have chosen to read on, I applaud
your tenacity as well as your ability to see things in various
degrees of light. Your “game plan” for today and beyond
definitely DOES affect more than just you ---and much more than
just your generation.
I would like to take a moment to share the various aspects of
the multi-generational vision I have, with the hope that you’ll
consider devising one for yourself. It goes like this: I
strongly desire to see my children succeed me in their lives. I
tell them that this is not only my desire for them, but also for
their children, and their children’s children, and so on. I pray
that my sons will then go on to have the same vision for their
future families. (What a glorious day it will be to sit in the
same room with three or four generations of my family, all with
the same multi-generational faithfulness!) When I teach my
children a new task, or read out loud, or just generally spend
time doing something of importance with them, I share how this
can be “passed on” to their kids. I explain how our faith in God
is vital for all aspects of our lives, and how to keep that
faith alive in our family. They understand that they are
important to me, so they listen when I share with them my vision
for each of the generations to come.
This may sound like a lot for a child to absorb, but it really
isn’t. They get it. If you don’t already have this sort of
vision for your children, especially your sons, I urge you to
consider devising one...then immediately put it into practice.
It’s really quite simple. Let’s get started!
To have a multi-generational vision, there must be a few,
essential things in place.
1) You must already have—or plan to have—children, because
without them there is no generation to follow in your footsteps.
(This is a given, wouldn’t you agree?) 2) You must teach your
children the vision, lest it die. 3) You should have a true
desire to see your children and your grandchildren supercede
your level of “success”. I am not just talking financially, but
as a child of God. 4) You must have a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ. We must place our trust in Him if we are ever to
expect our vision to become reality. Plain & simple.
Now I’ll briefly expand on the list above.
Item #1 is a no brainer.
It is impossible to have a multi-generational vision without
children being involved. Unfortunately, many people today
consider children a “burden”, instead of what they truly are:
blessings! Personally, I consider debt to be a burden, don’t
you? But many people have it backwards. In fact, those same
people will go so far as to reject blessings (children), but
APPLY for curses (debt). Psalm 127:4-5 states “As arrows are in
the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of thy youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall
not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the
gate.” Wow! Picture that!
Item #2 is very important. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 states: “And these
words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when
thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou
risest up.” Tip: In other words, they need to spend time with
you learning the various multi-generational tasks and beliefs.
Teach them of those who came before them in history who kept the
faith. (Hebrews Chapter 11 is a great place to start.)
I believe that #3 and #4 go hand in hand. By having a personal
relationship with Jesus and seeking His will for our lives, I
truly believe this desire to see the future generations succeed
us will come.
There are many organizations and ministries that offer wonderful
resources on this life-changing topic. My favorite (and the one
that I recommend every parent or future parent check out) is
Vision Forum Ministries - http://www.visionforumministries.org.
Doug Phillips, the founder of Vision Forum, is a leader in the
field of providing the timely tools men need today to train
their children, so that they might have a multi generational
vision for their families.
To sum up: seek God’s will for your life.
Create a vision for your family. It won’t be the easiest road
you’ve ever traveled down, but the rewards will be far-reaching!
I will close with this quote from Matthew 7:14: “Because strait
is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it.”
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