RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

Family Life – 7
Sammy Tippit: We’ve been talking about family relationships, and most of the time we’ve been talking about the relationship between the husband and wife. I want us to turn a corner and now begin to talk about parent-child relationships. This is a special thing, and for any parent… You know how special it is to have children and (for Tex and me now) grandchildren.

It’s just such a blessing for us. It’s truly a blessing like the Bible says. But that can also be a very, very challenging relationship, so we want to talk about it. Let me just give you a little background because it’s kind of interesting… We all (even though we’re family here) really have different relationships with our parents. Every one of us does.
Let me just start off with my relationship. My father became ill when I was very young. I was 10 years old. Sometimes he would actually be in the hospital for longer than he would be at home. I remember there was an entire year when he was at a hospital in another city. So it was almost like I grew up in a single-parent home. It wasn’t a single-parent home in the sense that my dad forsook me or anything like that, but his presence…  He just wasn’t there (not of his own fault). I always felt that my dad loved me. But then when I got married and we had our first child, Dave… I remember he was just a little baby, and I was preaching in Southern Illinois. While I was there, I was watching him and just looking at him, and I felt so inadequate. I said, “God, I don’t know how to be a father. My father wasn’t there when I was growing up. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to do this thing.”
I’ll never forget the voice of God just whispering to my heart, “Look to me. I am your Father, and I’ve been a father to you. The way I’ve been a father to you… You learn of me and you’ll know how to father your child.” That became a critically important thing. I have to confess I haven’t done a great job of it, but I had a basis, something to learn from.
I’m still learning, but it gave me something to look to and someone to look to as a guide in learning to be a father. So that was one of the most important moments in my life as a family member, as a husband, and as a father. So before we go any further, I want us to discuss the role our walk with God, our faith in Christ, plays in parenting. Take off.
Kelly Tippit: When I got married, that kind of revealed to me the selfishness I had in my life, but that was nothing compared to when I brought home that newborn who was adorable and who I loved so much. In a marriage, at least you have a little bit of give-and-take, but here you’re just giving to that child. You think it’s going to stop, but it’s 14 years later, and there’s just a lot of giving when you’re a parent. It brings things up in your life that you have to deal with.  I think it caused me to go to the Lord and (to this day) just really seek his strength when they were little itty bitty children and I was just exhausted from getting up throughout the night. You need his strength. You need wisdom when they’re little. Now I have teenagers, so I’m just continually needing God’s wisdom. That has caused me to just go to him for guidance, strength, and wisdom every day.
Sammy: Yeah, and just an observation, Kelly… We’ve been talking about growing into Christ- likeness, and a great part of God’s character is that he’s a giving God. So even though we don’t always like it this way, we’re developing that spirit of giving and becoming more like him even though that wasn’t what we kind of signed up for.
Kelly: It’s like you had no idea what you were getting into.
Sammy: That’s great. Yeah. Dave?
Dave Tippit: Yeah, I think it has gone the other way for me too. Not only has my parenting affected my relationship with God, but the opposite is also true. I think that as a parent… When we first took home our newborn, there was just this indescribable love God gave us for our child. It’s something you’ve never experienced before. It’s a different type of love than you have for your spouse. It’s this protective, nurturing sense of wanting the best for that person.
You have some of those things in marriage, but it’s a different feeling. It’s this parental relationship you have. Just experiencing that… Yeah, you’ve heard all of the clichés that God is our Father, but until you become a father, I don’t think you can realize the depth of that, the truth of that, and the fact that he really is love. It’s says in the Scriptures, “…God is love.” Love is the quintessential essence of who God is.
Just as I want the best for my children, just as I am rooting for them, just as I am standing with them through the struggles, just as I will always be there for them and encourage them no matter what they do or where they go… That’s who God is to more than 7 billion people in this world. He has created them in his image. He desires the best for each one of them. We can’t truly grasp that, but that’s the kind of God we serve. It just gives me a deeper appreciation. It makes me want to serve that type of God even more.
Sammy: Tex, what about you?
Tex Tippit: Yeah. Along kind of a different line, when we first found out we were pregnant with Dave, I went to the Lord because we were still pretty young. I just asked God, “God, give me some promises for our son.” One of the promises he gave us was that one day you would serve the Lord.
Full-time ministry wasn’t in the word, but he said you would serve him. We never shared that with you until later, and it was neat for me as a mom to see how that and other promises he gave for your life and Renee’s life came true. To me, that has been an encouragement: just how God has been so faithful in his word.
Sammy: I guess mine is kind of like Kelly’s. “I can’t do this. I don’t know how to do this, Lord. I need help.” Probably the greatest prayer most of us pray is a one-word prayer.
Tex: “Help!”
Sammy: “Help!” Because we see our inadequacies. You’re entrusted with this little life, and… “Wow, what do I do?” Now let’s reverse that. You’ve spoken to it a little bit, Dave. How has your parenting helped you develop your faith? Reverse this.
Tex: Patience.
Sammy: Well, there you go.
Tex: I learned a lot of patience. I learned to love more deeply. Loving y’all and seeing how I loved you showed me how the Father must love me. That depth of love and commitment… I saw he was committed to me, and my heart is to be committed to y’all, not just for a season or when you’re walking with the Lord or not walking with the Lord, but no matter what. Those are two things that have helped me and been an encouragement.
Kelly: I was thinking the same thing. Both of y’all are just talking about the Father-heart of God. Just realizing my kids will disappoint me and do things to aggravate and frustrate me, maybe in ways no other human can, but my love for them doesn’t diminish, and I still always want the best for them… Taking that and looking at that helps me to tap a little bit into how the Father must feel toward me. I mean, I’m just a human, and he’s this perfect, loving God. He must still love me with all of my flaws and failures, and it just amazes me to realize that.
Sammy: One of the songs and Scripture verses I appreciate so much says his mercies are fresh every day. I think that in the parent-child relationship, you need fresh mercy and fresh love every day to be refilled, because when you give out to those little ones… Like you said in the beginning, they take a lot, so as you give out to them, you need the fresh mercy of God to fill you every day. I want to encourage you to look to God as your Father. Look to him as your example. Look to him as your mentor to make you the parent you know he wants you to be.