Making Disciples

We went to the Nursing Home today for our monthly visit. It always seems like I go dragging my feet and return home dancing for joy. There is a work God does in my heart every time I go. He allows me to see people with His heart and minister in His strength. I witness my children abandon selfish desires and reach out in the name of Jesus. There is no blessing like it!

In the space of just an hour, along with other like-minded homeschoolers, we were able to bless dozens of residents. We visited Janet, one of our “regulars,” and sang “Amazing Grace” for her. The kids were rewarded with a big smile. They gave out coloring pages, handmade crafts and gospel tracts to another resident, who accepted them gratefully while saying, “I just love you guys!” We sang to wheelchair-bound seniors in the dining hall, some of whom were too weak to lift their hands to clap. But that's okay--we weren’t doing it for their applause; we were doing it for God’s.

Then there was the miraculous moment when we sang to a young man who was brain damaged by a shooting incident. His face is normally inexpressive but after hearing “How Great Thou Art,” he hung his head and cried with joy. We saw tears rolling down his mother’s eyes, too. We couldn’t help but leave that room as changed people.

Christian homeschooling is not about academics; it’s about discipleship. Our goal is to produce men and women who love Christ with all their hearts, souls, minds and strengths. If we focus merely on the academic (their minds), we are neglecting their hearts and their souls. We are missing the mark when it comes to our God-given mandate to “make disciples” of our kids.

Our children learn valuable lessons every time we visit the Nursing Home. They learn that we are never too busy to do the will of God. They learn that it is more blessed to give than to receive. They learn that whatever we’ve done unto the least of them, we’ve done it unto Him.

These are lessons they’ll never learn sitting at a desk.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7