Intersect: KIDULTS FACE THE WILDERNESS

INTERSECT (Where the Bible Meets Life) is a regular column of ONE Magazine featuring Dr. Garnett Reid, a member of the Bible faculty at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Email Garnett greid@fwbbc.edu

IT'S HARD TO LET YOUR CHILDREN GO. We sometimes forget that Abraham had to give two sons away. The first, Ishmael, he gave to the wilderness. In her striking novel Gilead, Marilynne Robinson observes:

That is how life goes—we send our children into the wilderness. Some of them on the day they are born, it seems…some of them seem to be a kind of wilderness unto themselves. But there must be angels there, too, and springs of water. Even that wilderness, the very habitation of jackals, is the Lord’s. I need to bear this in mind.

Abraham gave his second son to God. Though Isaac was the miracle child, these two surrenders of sons in Genesis 21 and 22 have much in common. The parallels are striking: both reflect God’s direction. Abraham rose early in the morning on each occasion; bushes played a key role, as did eyes; in both instances, death was a likely outcome; fear was prominent both times, yet so was the angel of the Lord. Read closely and you’ll find other similarities.

To the parent whose child is lost—wandering in the wilderness. Just remember, Abraham was lost at home in
Ur when he loved idols. Only when he set out for the wilderness did he find the path God had marked for him.

If you are reluctant to give up your son or daughter, be assured you have company. Many kids hang out at the edge of adulthood, “kidults” whose failure to launch keeps them with you well into their 20s, or brings them back home to retreat from the reality of responsibility. Sure, much of it is due to their culture and their own immaturity. Sometimes it can’t be helped; they’re individuals, and many of them need to be with you.

Often, however, their plight is the fault of parents. One of our primary responsibilities is to prepare our children to leave mom and dad for the wilderness. Don’t set them up for “adultescence”—that time of life today when 20-somethings have trouble settling into commitment. Dad, teach them to trust God by modeling your own mature life commitments. Mom, remember that God will walk with them in the wilderness. They know that if you have opened their eyes to Him at home.

And to the parent whose child is lost—wandering in the wilderness. Just remember, Abraham was lost at home in Ur when he loved idols. Only when he set out for the wilderness did he find the path God had marked for him. Don’t give up hope. The wilderness will bring your boy or girl face to face with God.