One of the greatest gifts of my life is my grown-up kids. We have fun together, and we also engage in conversations about important topics. I can feel my role in the family changing as everyone takes on increasingly responsible positions in his own world. While I’m sure they would each say their mother’s communication style is unfailingly straightforward (ahem), it’s also true that it has become more nuanced now that they are adults.
In two places in Paul’s New Testament letters, he makes a similar transition in tone. He was an unparalleled preacher, and his teaching comes through to us even today as clear, sharp, and unflinchingly direct. However, when the time came for action, he was well aware that he was calling for a response from the will of the individual:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called…” (Ephesians 4:1)
A Time to Preach, a Time to Teach, and a Time to Beseech
In Paul’s ministry, there was a time to preach, a time to teach, and a time to beseech, and it seems that the change in tone came with Paul’s challenge to his readers to step up, to live their way into the mature practice of the faith he had proclaimed, described, and lived before them. Eugene Peterson describes Paul’s beseeching as a call from God to “participate in who he is and what he does.”
In our teaching, in our parenting, in our discipling of others, there comes a moment when all the true words have been said, all the pouring out of life has been given, and all the responsibility for the next move is fully in someone else’s court. The comfort, encouragement, or discernment the parent or teacher or mentor offers is secondary to the decision to act. Each one of us must hand ourselves over and begin to “walk worthy” of our calling. This is the mark of the grown-up believer.
How are these verses landing on your heart today?
Is there a decision that needs to be made, a relationship that will only be mended if you make the first move, a point of obedience that you need to say yes to?
In your parenting or in your ministry, have you discerned the difference in tone that comes when it’s time for someone to begin to participate in who God is and what he is doing?
In our teaching, our parenting, our discipling of others, there comes a moment when all the true words have been said, all the pouring out of life has been given, and all the responsibility for the next move is in someone else’s court
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And Now, Let’s Talk Books…
This genre-bending work of fiction asks, “What if every time a life-changing event occurs or a decision is made, a new universe is created with another version of yourself that reflects the outcome of that decision?” In Between You and Us, David and Leona have come through some hardships in their marriage. Still, they seem to be moving toward reconciliation and peace with their tenth-anniversary celebration.
But something wasn’t right the evening they met at a pricey restaurant, and where in the world had David come up with the expensive suit—and the bright yellow Camaro?
Soon, nothing felt certain, and Broekhuis’s storytelling had me turning pages well past my usual lights-out as she unraveled Leona’s mysterious and bewildering disorientation.
Without lessening the story’s impact or departing from the narrative flow, she addresses the weighty topics of anxiety, depression, and grief. Elements of quantum mechanics are equally at home with snatches of impromptu poetry.
A quirky cast of characters adds depth and realism to the story as Leona seeks answers and finds wisdom in unexpected places: “The trick is to call the bad bad, and to sift out and celebrate the good.” That sifting process clarifies Leona’s thinking as she finds the courage to make an impossible choice.
Holding you in the light,
In her genre-bending debut novel, Kendra Broekhuis portrays the story of a grieving woman who must make an impossible choice. Elements of quantum mechanics are at home with snatches of impromptu poetry. #betweenyouandus @WaterBrookPress
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As you know, I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path. At Living Our Days, I provide biblical content and resources to encourage biblical literacy and faithful living, and now I’m sharing devotional content on the YouVersion app. Visit my profile page to get free access to the reading plans!
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“A Time to Preach, a Time to Teach, and a Time to Beseech.” This makes so much sense to me, Michele. Definitely going through that transition from teaching to beseeching, and as one whose communication style also trends toward “unfailingly straightforward,” it can be a challenge! So thankful for your wisdom about this season of parenting life.
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I think you and I would have a good conversation over mugs of tea. So often we’re thinking and processing along the same topics!
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“A time to preach, a time to teach, and a time to beseech”–that is such a good way to put it. In some ways, it’s scary to think that the ball is their court and I can’t “make” them behave a certain way as I could when they were younger. But then that’s part of their own maturing–making truth their own and living accordingly.
That book sounds intriguing!
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When that feeling of worry over my kids takes hold, all I have to do is remember how completely inept and unprepared I was for adult life—and how God so mercifully took care of me.
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“In our teaching, in our parenting, in our discipling of others, there comes a moment when all the true words have been said, all the pouring out of life has been given, and all the responsibility for the next move is fully in someone else’s court.” It is so hard to just let things land where they may, knowing the ball is in their court. Praying for the seeds which we all have sown to stay rooted deeply and remain thriving.
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You are SO right. Our every instinct wants to rush in and be the fixer in chief!
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How true, we each must “walk worthy of our calling.” Thanks for your insights for us personally and for parenting adult children! I hope your Maine summer is off to a sweet start!
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It was a slow start but the sweetness is coming !
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Michele, I never considered the word beseech before. Thanks for clarifying and encouraging us to encourage others in the ways God would have us. Interesting how the relationships we have with our adult children (mine will be 44 and 46 this summer) continue to morph and change over time. I keep on trying to go with the flow.
By His grace.
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I’m still on the front end of this business with one still in college and the oldest just turning 30, so I’m discovering that morphing process with a kind of awe—and ever grateful for grace and the kids’ forbearance…
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“A Time to Preach, a Time to Teach, and a Time to Beseech.” I like that. Peter used the phrase, “stirring you up” as a reminder so you won’t forget when I’m gone. I think both of these men felt deep concern that their flock would not forget what they’d been taught.
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And with good reason! We are such forgetful sheep!
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