Today more than ever before, our children are under attack of their physical health because of the COVID-19 pandemic as they return to school, and their spiritual health because of wickedness in high places, as we would expect in these End Times. Thankfully, God's Word provides much valuable instruction for parents to protect their children from these onslaughts.
In its simplest form, the family as God designed it is a
trio consisting of mother, father, and child, reflecting His Triune nature. Not surprisingly, advice in
His Word about parenting also occurs in patterns of three.
God urges parents to remind themselves, their children,
and their grandchildren of His faithfulness by remembering all His
wonderful works. Hearing God’s Word leads us to fear Him, to live
long and abundantly, and to teach
our children to do the same (Deuteronomy
4:9-10).
The fear His Word instills in us and in our offspring is respect
for His power, which is the beginning of wisdom,
knowledge, and understanding (Job 28:28;
Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7;
9:10; 15:33). That fear of the Lord is a treasure giving us stability
in changing and challenging times and the strength of our salvation (Isaiah 33:6).
When we and our children fear the Lord, His Spirit will rest upon us, giving us
the spirit
of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, [and] the spirit of knowledge (Isaiah 11:2).
Parents are to love God with our whole being -- with all
our heart, soul and strength – and
to teach our child to love God and His Word as part of our daily routine. We
are to teach our child diligently,
no matter whether we are at home or away
from home, and at all times, whether
getting up in the morning
or going to bed at night. Our whole body should keep His Word, including
our heart, hands, and eyes (Deuteronomy 6:5-7; 11:18), to help keep us from sin (Psalm 119:11).
Teaching our children about God and His Word is primarily
the responsibility of the parents,
not that of the school or even the church. However, families that attend
a Bible-believing church that begins teaching Scripture at an early age will
have their own teaching reinforced. As the saying goes, “Teach your child to
love God, or the world will teach him not to.” God commands the father to
make His truth known to the children
(Isaiah 38:19).
If parents use God’s Word to illuminate our path (Psalm 119:105), it will lead us
to follow His commandments, statutes, and judgments (Deuteronomy 7:11).
We are not only to hear His Word,
but to study it and do what it says (Deuteronomy 7:12; James 1:22). If we do this, He will
love, bless and multiply us,
blessing our children, our harvest, and our livestock. He will provide bountifully for all of us with corn, wine and oil (Deuteronomy 7:13).
If we trust Christ, our children are more likely to
follow our example and be saved. Parents who are born again (John 3:3-8)
by realizing we are sinners in need
of a Savior, and by our belief in
the death, burial and resurrection
of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6)
are living proof of faith.
Timothy’s faith was a legacy passed down through three generations, from his grandmother
Lois to his mother Eunice, and then to Timothy. Even though Timothy had to trust God through his own faith, the
Godly atmosphere in which he grew up made that more likely by leading and strengthening him and encouraging
him to grow spiritually (2 Timothy 3:15).
If we are saved, we set a good example for our children
to follow. In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter promised salvation to whomever the
Lord would call -- his listeners,
their children, and even those far away (Acts 2:39).
Zacchaeus, the dishonest tax collector sought out by
Jesus, hurried to comply with Jesus’
wish to visit him, came down from his perch high in the tree (swallowed his pride), and received Jesus joyfully. As a result,
Jesus said that salvation had come to his house (Luke 19:5-10).
Once the father is saved, his children are more likely to
observe, emulate and internalize
that faith, although it is no guarantee they will be saved. Each child must
come to his own repentance of sin, need of a Savior, and spiritual rebirth. God is the perfect Parent, and yet Adam and Eve disobeyed Him (Genesis 3:6). (In this case, the
family trio was not two parents and one child, but One Father and two children).
God had clearly told them what they could do (eat the fruit of every tree but one), what they must not do (eat the fruit of
the tree of knowledge of good and evil), and what would happen if they disobeyed (they would die). (Genesis 2:16-17). This is the
perfect example of stating expectations,
setting limits, and warning about expected outcomes that we
should follow with our children.
In today’s society, there seems to be a trend for parents
to want to be their child’s peer, buddy, or playmate, rather than the one in authority. This is clearly not
Biblical. Children are to honor (respect and obey) their father and mother, because God has commanded it; because it
will lengthen their life; and because they
will fare better in life (Deuteronomy
5:16; Exodus 20:12; Ephesians
6:2-3, etc.).
So let us be parents, and not chums, by disciplining our
children in love when needed, just as our Heavenly Father does (Hebrews 12:6). It is not loving to avoid physical discipline
when it is needed to protect them (Proverbs
13:24). Discipline should never be done in anger, but to encourage children in the nurture (loving care) and admonition (warning against evil) of
the Lord (Colossians 3:20-21;
Ephesians 6:4).
May we pray for our children as Jesus Himself prayed for
us (John 17). He identifies us
as God’s children because we receive the
words which Jesus (through His Word and His Spirit) gave us, we know that Jesus came from the Father,
and we believe that God the Father sent
Jesus the Son to this earth to save us (v.
8). We belong to the Father, and we
belong to Jesus, and He is glorified
in us (v. 9-10). Jesus prayed
that we would be kept in the Father’s
Name, that the Father would keep us
from the evil in the world, and that the
Father would sanctify us through His truth (v. 11,15,17).
May we pray this prayer for ourselves, for our children,
and for generations to follow,
anticipating great blessings, as we shall see next week!
© 2014 Laurie Collett
Revised and reposted from the archives
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4 comments:
Dear Laurie,
Rearing children in the Lord is, I believe, a heavy responsibility for any Christian parent. I once read that the child is watching the behaviour of his parents a good deal of the time.
Many children of Christian parents end up as atheists after observing what appears as "do what I say, not what I do." Then a stint of the University tuition will push the student further towards atheism.
In the UK, up to 88% of all students raised by Christian parents have their faith destroyed by the tuition of Evolution on the campus. But this, I think, has much to do with leaving home with a less than adequate Christian upbringing.
This shows how short of ideal such parenting can be.
Blessings to you and Richard.
Dear Frank,
Nowadays it seems that many doctors are wearing surgical scrubs, which is reassuring in that we know these can be washed and disinfected daily to reduce likelihood of COVID transmission.
When our son was growing up, Richard's advice to him about job interviews was to be well dressed, show up on time, and be polite. Worked like a charm! Not that he didn't have the skills to be successful anyway, but every little bit helps! Blessings to you and Alex,
Laurie
Dear Frank,
My apologies -- I realize I just posted my response to your blog here, instead of your site. So I reposted it there!
What I meant to say was, you are quite right! Children imitate what they see and hear, and are quick to spot insincerity or hypocrisy. I regret not being saved until our son was 10, but I'm blessed that he too was saved soon thereafter, despite liberal teaching in the school he attended.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
May God bless you and Alex,
Laurie
Hi Laurie,
absolutely right, we should always endeavour to train our children in the way they should go. My father always read a scripture to us when we were children, and even though I only had him in my life for eleven years, and went astray later on, I remembered his teaching and when the Father brought me to His Son Jesus I realized how cunning the spiritual enemy can be if we don't have God's Word in our lives. However, the scriptures tell us that every day of our lives is written in His book before even one of them was formed, and although I went astray in my early days after my dad had died those times gave me empathy with those who have gone down the same road and need to come to the Lord. God bless Laurie, it is nice to be back blogging.
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