Perspectives

Deuteronomy 6:4-9… 4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one, 5) Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6) These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8) Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9) Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (NIV)

How old does one have to be to be a perfect parent? Try telling others how to raise their children and you will probably get that… what makes you think you know all the answers? But should you be bold enough to tell others; do so with extreme self-consciousness, maybe even with some fear; bearing in mind that we really have not learned all there is to know about raising children, and that includes those of us who are grandparents. There are times when we ask ourselves the question, “Will we ever know all the answers?” Life’s experiences have taught us that the job is not easy and that there is no sure formula for rearing children.

Grandparents often think about what they will leave their children when they pass away. Most of us, however; think in terms of, did we provide the opportunity for a decent education? This is, after all, a parent’s duty. Then we think of property, money, stocks, and bonds if we are wealthy enough to think like that. But let us get a little religious and think in terms of what kind of faith we are going to leave to our children. What kind of spiritual heritage, what kind of lifestyle, what kind of understanding of who God is and of what the Scriptures teach? It is true that we can not really give our faith away. But we can pass on our faith. We can leave our sense of moral values as recorded in the Bible, those values that have guided us as we raised our children and made our decisions in life.

Now having said all that we have no choice but to find out what the Bible has to say about this. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). This passage of Scripture tells us that we must instruct and train our children in the ways of the Lord, and there is nothing wrong if we become somewhat emotional about these truths. They are after all so precious, and essential to God’s purpose in our lives that they are to be upon our hearts. We are to teach them diligently, we are to be tireless in our effort to instruct them how to live. We must be willing to invest the time, the effort, and the energy to teach our children these truths.

This is a command of God that we are to instruct our children in the ways of God and pass on our faith. Well if that is so, whose responsibility is it to teach our children these truths? According to the Word of God, mothers, and fathers, but primarily fathers have the responsibility of instructing children in the things of God. But when was the last time, we/I took the Bible and sat down with our children to explain a passage of Scripture? When was the last time we/I explained some spiritual truths or other issues that our children grappled with, referring to a Biblical passage because God said something specific about it?

Children learn by watching what we do and say. What patterns are our children picking up from us? Are there patterns in our lives which we would rather not discuss with our children? Just suppose Dad comes home one night wringing his hands, complaining about his job, and blaming everyone else for the things that did not work out the way he thought they should have. What the children learn when they see this kind of behavior is to blame everyone else and never accept responsibility.

That is not a pattern the Lord wants children to learn. Rather, we should take our problems to the Lord in prayer, letting our children know that we need Christ’s help to overcome these difficulties. When things get tough or we do not know which way to turn, we should turn to God. Our children will never forget those examples. It makes no difference how many times children attend church. There is nothing like a mother and father patterning principles they believe in if they want to hand those principles down to their children… To God Be the Glory Great Things He Has Done…

Would you pray this prayer with me … “Lord Jesus, come into my heart? Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name.” Amen