The Apple Doesn't _________________

Can you finish the sentence?

It's an old cliche, but it's probably true...the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. I've been thinking about that a lot recently, since I will be meeting Lauren and I's little "apple" in November. If I'm honest, I'm kind of scared that he'll be just like me.

When someone uses that line, it is usually with a negative connotation. There are definitely times in life, where you're going to look at your kids and say "that's in THEM, because of ME, and I wish that weren't the case." But what about the positive potential that this statement holds? There are also positive traits/characteristics/habits that your kids are in them because you possess them.

Here's where I'm going with this...there's one area of life, where this statement is most definitively true...your relationship with God and your own spiritual growth. Many folks falsely assume that if I bring my kids to church, they'll grow spiritually. It's not that easy.

There are no guarantees that any of our children will grow up loving God and desiring to follow Him with their lives, but I do know this...they have a better chance of understanding what that's all about if they have parents in their life who are modeling that for them and doing their best to live out a genuine and real relationship with God in front of them.

If it's not in YOU...it's probably not going to be in THEM! When it comes to spiritual growth and desire for God, the old adage is true...the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.