the village idiot

it takes a church. it takes a body of believers. it takes all the parts working together for the glory of God. that is what it takes to raise a child, or a family. i see it every day at my job as a first grade teacher. i watch parents bring their children to school and drop them off to be educated. that is a very scary thought if i am the teacher and they are dropping their child off to be with me (a village member) for 7 hours a day. what if i am the village idiot? fortunately, i am a member of the body of Christ. empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the job that i have been called to do. i cant imagine entrusting my 6 year old to a woman empowered by her own self. when i think about the village analogy i think of ant colonies. you might think this is just a symantics thing but i really think there is more to it than just the wording. it is all about a world view that identifies who we are and the purpose and goals of the village. after all we have clear instructions on the goals of the body of Christ, to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. who defines the purpose of a villlage? once again what if it is defined by the village idiot or worse a power hungry leader. i fully understand that a child is very seldom only raised by 2 parents, nor do i think that is always the best option. i am and will be eternally grateful for the influence and assistance that i have received in the raising of my 3 children. my boys have been the recipient of some great mentoring by some very Godly men who dont happen to be their father. these honorable men also happen to be a part of the family of God, not just the local village. my daughter is being influenced and molded by many Godly role models. dont get the impression that i am boasting on my own children, that really is not the case, although i am proud of each one of them. the point that i am making is: when these children are raised and that job is completed if there are any positive productive traits among them it will be because of a sovereign God that brought the right parts of the Body together at the right time. it will not be because of the success of some village. i must clarify that i do not believe that we will only have fully functioning members of society if they are only raised by the traditional family. what i am saying is we live in a fallen world with fallen people and the responsibility of raising a family spreads wide these days. so my hats are off to grandparents, aunts, uncles, sunday school teachers, and many others for pitching in to help with the burden. but lets give the glory to whom it belongs, its the church, the corporate body of Christ not a village.