“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
How hard is it raising children these days? There is so much in the world that pulls at their young hearts and minds. As parents we must stand in the gap praying over their lives daily. We must be the hand that leads them and shows them what it looks like to follow Jesus. Soon enough they will be grown and graduating from amateur ball and headed to the pros. The Super Bowl of life is approaching for them fast, so we need to be diligent in our preparation of them now, before they are shot into the world without us to direct their every step.
I heard a sermon the other day where the preacher said his parents had a drug problem. They drug him to church every Sunday. It was something that as a child he surely didn’t appreciate, but as an adult following after the Lord hard, he cannot miss the significance of his parents consistent efforts to train him up. He had been through the drill every week of going to the house of God for the word of God. It was just what his body knew to do on Sundays.
Hey parents, would your child say the same about you 10-15 years from now? Would they look back and see your consistent efforts to lead them in Godliness and say, “Thanks for fighting for me?” Your child will soon be drafted and when they make it to the big game you want them to be ready.
Don’t be afraid to blow the whistle, coach.
Don’t be afraid to correct bad form.
Don’t be afraid to keep running the same play again and again.
Keep at it as God uses you to get them ready.
We all have our own special set of struggles, and difficult circumstances that we must overcome on our way to parenting God’s way, but the thing believers blessed with children have in common is we’ve all been given the same Holy Spirit as an advocate to empower us to parent as He would. You won’t be the perfect parent, but my prayer for you today is that you are resolved to be the best and most consistent example of God’s loving parenting that you can be with His divine help.