New Church Life Mar/Apr 2015 | Page 44

new church life: march/april 2015 in this use, and some of how they are called to go about it. As the Scripture we’ve focused on so far indicates, you are called to participate in this use. “You are the light of the world” for the children in your purview. On the Lord’s Team. One way to hold this is to hear the Lord inviting each of us to be a part of His team. In the creation story the Lord says: “Let Us make man in Our own image, according to Our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26) Many Biblical scholars have concluded that this verse refers in some way to the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But the Heavenly Doctrines clearly state that it is not a tri-personal God that is indicated here; rather it is the one God and the team of human beings He uses to help people choose the path that leads to heaven. Regarding the regeneration of a person we read: “Now because this is done through the ministry of angels, it is said here, in the plural first of all, ‘Let Us make man in Our image.’” (Arcana Coelestia 50:3) Angels are part of the “us” in this verse of Genesis. This passage continues to describe what those angels do. From the Lord they “distract [us] from plunging into utter evil, and so divert [us] toward something good.” When we respond, they are able to draw nearer, “[breathing into us] every kind of good and truth, as well as a horror and dread of evils and falsities.” Leading away from bad things, and inspiring good things: doesn’t that sound like what parents do every single day? The powerful thing to consider here is that the Lord calls parents – and teachers and anyone else interacting with children – to be like guardian angels for the children in their care. We are invited to be a part of the Lord’s team, as He leads them to grow and develop into the kind of people who can live in heaven some day. The Lord’s job description for parents. Let’s focus first on parents in this regard. Almost everyone who has held a newborn child has felt that awesome responsibility to care for this tiny person. The love that flows in is incredibly powerful, opening the mind to the Lord as Creator, and the wisdom of turning to Him for guidance in how to be a good parent. In many cases this leads families to seek baptism for their young child. Often by means of this experience, and also by other means, parents can become aware of their parental responsibilities, according to the Word. I would like to point to 10 such invitations from the Lord, directed specifically to parents, to demonstrate the significant role He asks them to play in the lives of 154