God-given Responsibility

10/21/14           Jaime           about 30

"Our basic problem as men is too many of us are spiritual couch potatoes!" I told Jaime, a first generation immigrant from Ecuador whom I met while shopping at a Menards.  He had told me he generally believes in God but leaves church-related issues and teaching his children up to his wife: "She knows more about it than I do” he had said, so I continued.  “Part of the original problem in the Garden of Eden is that Adam sat back and said nothing while Eve was being tempted and deceived by the serpent” (even though Eve had not even been created yet when God told Adam not to eat from the tree!).  “She was first to eat the forbidden fruit but God held Adam responsible.  And as men we need to take the spiritual responsibility in our family.  But how will you teach your children if you don’t know much about the Bible yourself?”  I told Jaime this in the midst of sharing the Gospel because I think it is important to realize that our response to the Gospel isn’t just personal – it has an impact on everyone around us as well, especially the very people we love the most.  This is true for everyone, but seems to be especially overlooked or ignored by too many men, and could be just what someone like Jaime needs to wake up to his God-given responsibility.