It struck me today that perhaps the entire goal of parenting may be summed up in one verse:  Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

What if we would allow God to do such a work in us that we could lead by example instead of merely by word?

We desire for our children to be so moved by the love of God that they live an upright life before the Lord. And, in error, we turn our focus first onto our children in an effort to change their behavior. But perhaps the transformation of our children is not a weight God intends for us to bear alone.

Instead, what if we were to first turn our focus onto ourselves? What if we were to seek to become the revival we wish to see in our children? What if, after a surrender to the Spirit of God, by His grace, He would so change us that we were enabled to live in such a way before our children that they could look to us for an example. What if we could say as Paul did in this verse: “Imitate me as I imitate Christ”?

If we were to align ourselves with the Lord and allow Him to transform us into His image, perhaps this would be the one thing that would have the biggest impact on our children.

Perhaps the only real way we will have a lasting influence and become an instrument of the revival we long to see in our children is to first allow the revival to begin in us.

It’s when we turn our face to Him, instead of to others, that we can best shine His light.