New growth

I had planned to post a few pics from the garden and share a little more on our modest progress here, but there is more than vegetable seed growing at our home this year...
Our 14 year old son has been asking a lot of questions on the meaning of the Lord's Supper these past few months. He has expressed a desire to partake as member of the Church and has done some studying on the issues. I am very pleased at this new chapter in his life.

I know that there are a lot of opinions on when a child should be allowed to come to the table, and I do not want to start any fires out there. Still, I thought it might be helpful to explain a little on our understanding of the issue to help expound the joy that this event has given me.

While most of the modern Church allows just about any one to partake of the Lord's Table, we have the practice of 'fencing' the table from the ignorant,profane, and scandalous. That is, we have each member that desires admittance to the table to meet with an Elder from the local group and have a talk to make sure that they understand the basic meaning of the Lord's Supper (not ignorant), and also to pointedly admonish them that after this examination it will be up to that individual to discern if he is living with any un confessed sin each time that he/she comes to the table, (not scandalous or profane). We do this because we see a warning of serious chastisement in the Word for any person who partakes of this as though it were just an external rite, or worse yet, has some area where they are being stiff-necked in their sin. After this initial examination we do not become involved in the individuals decision to participate in the ordinance unless they publicly state some error about the efficacy of the meal, ( like the Roman view of trans-substantiation) or have been exposed in some 'scandalous' sin, ( not just some disagreement with the church or common daily sin which we all commit, but one that would do damage to the good name of Christ and His local church if they admitted this person to the table). So, basically we try to make sure that we stay out of the Christian's way in this matter, except where needed on the one hand, and also try and make sure that no one is knowingly, (profane person) or unknowingly, ( child too young to understand the basic meaning because of the warnings and need to be practicing repentance).

That being said, the great news is that it really appears that all those years of homeschooling, family worship, training, and prayer have begun to pay off! For us it is the admittance to the table that we cherish for our children. This is when we finally know that, at least externally, our children are considering their relationship to God themselves. In our family this is a time that we have prayed for earnestly and approached as a caution against the heresy of presumptive regeneration, ( that teaching which states that all children of believers are actually saved without regeneration), which some have mistakenly erred into.
Now, we continue to pray! For new growth and maturity in the things of God, for the signs of concern that every christian parent hopes to see in their children, for the next phase in his life...
In short, we pray that he is seeking God in all that he does, and seeking to make his calling and election sure!
We pray the same blessing for you and yours,
The Mothershed family