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I remember when my wife and I were with the world, all we aspired for our children were “worldly wishes”. All we had in mind was to work hard, save money and invest on properties that we may have a bountiful inheritance for our children. However, as time passed, reality of worldly life slips in. Unnoticed, we tend to spend all our time working hard, with one direction looking for ways to earn more, investing on businesses requiring all of our family time. We tried saving money but nothing seems to stay in the bank. We tried investing on properties but all seems to end up “for sale” to pay up loans or business errors until we end up with no properties at all. All these triggered by our passion to fulfill our “worldly wishes” for our children. Sometimes, due to this enthusiasm we end up overworked, frustrated, discouraged, paranoid, worrisome and pessimistic. However, through a series of trials and errors, the positive effect of this passion is the gaining of “worldly wisdom” regarding life and maturity through our own righteousness. Having succeeded and tasted the sweetness of our labor, the word “contentment” would seem synonymous to idleness. The sweet taste becomes addictive. The craving intensifies for more fruits of our labor. Our “worldly wishes” for our children seem to climb every ceiling or boundaries… leveling up, higher and higher until it gets out of control…
But, PRAISE TO GOD, our Father for His great mercy and grace, for calling us out of this world… out of darkness into His marvelous light… thanking Him always for His saving grace for me and my family. Truly, we thank Him for everything and offer ourselves as instruments of His grace to reach men like us all unworthy of the Father but made worthy through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyday thinking of this, everyday our hearts finds ways to please Him and serve Him well and continuously understanding His will for my family in this world.
Truly, as promised by him, great changes will happen in our lives, and we knew more changes will come… knowing He is in control of our lives as christians. A great transformation from a worldly parent to a christian parent. A great renewal from “worldly wishes” to a “glorious hope”… a more secured hope… an assured hope for my family’s future. A great knowledge from a “worldly wisdom” to “the Wisdom of God” through His Word, guiding our ways as parents to our children but most especially laying down THE GREATEST FOUNDATION for our children’s future as they grow up in this world and as we all wait for the coming of our Savior.
The wisdom of the Old Testament says; “Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
The word “to train” coming from the Hebrew word “hanak” meaning “to dedicate”, to train morally and religiously. Solomon was advising parents to set their child aside for special use, to dedicate them to the Lord and His Ways. The verb “train” includes the idea of influencing or stimulating the child to do well –through words of guidance, discipline and encouragement on the right path. This is a parent’s main task, to receive a child as a blessing from the Father and then to dedicate the child to God’s ways.
“And when he is old he will not depart from it”.
This phrase may seem to be a promise. However, let us understand that the Book of Proverbs presents general life principles and virtues, not promises.
Let us illustrate this point.
Sometimes when we see a child from a good family to turn out bad, we are inclined to conclude that there might be some dark side of parental neglect somewhere or poor parental training. That might be but not all cases. But what about the children who came from troubled homes and turn out to be great in life. Now, was there something we missed to analyze? Where did the training come from?
Therefore, let us understand that “GOOD PARENTING DOESN’T GUARANTEE GOOD CHILDREN”
Think about our Father in heaven. He was a perfect parent. But look at His children, then and now. Adam and Eve were raised in the best environment, paradise, yet they threw it all away… and went the way of the snake and gave birth to a murderer. Then came Israel, God’s dearly loved nation who repeatedly and chronically became stiff-necked people and the incorrigible rebellious child. Then came those proclaiming themselves servants or disciples of Christ or even the church, christians, who from time to time has given the Father a bad name all over the world. The prophet Ezekiel was right who argued that a good parent can have a child who turns out bad and that a bad parent can have a child who turns out good (Ezekiel 18:1-28).
But you know what.
The wisdom of Proverbs must always be within the shadow of Christ’s teachings in the New Covenant, having the better promise. Again, let us illustrate this:
“To train up a child in the way he should go,” tells christians, knowing what Christ has declared that children are the greatest in His kingdom… a blessing from the time in the womb to the time before the child’s purity was overshadowed by man’s sinful nature. The ways of Christ must be trained in them, strengthened by prayers, praising the Father, teaching them the desires and instructions of our Father through His Word, practicing what we preach inside and outside our homes, teaching them the importance of understanding and knowing the Father, introducing the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit… all these, that the phase “And when he is old he will not depart from it” would definitely be an absolute promise through Jesus Christ, and in lined with; as it is written; “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39)
Therefore, as christian parents, if we give a child a good beginning by training them in the ways of Christ, then according to the promise, as our Christ-like influence in our children, being etched in their hearts and mind, would now be a solid rock foundation for them in this world as they grow up to face the world and also seek Him who has been calling our family and truly know His will for all of us.
Christ is the only way and foundation to be etched in our children’s hearts… the only secured investment for our children’s future… that when everything shall come to past according to His will… our loving Children will be with us in a better place prepared for all those faithful and obedient families for Christ… and this is the greatest treasure a parent can give as an inheritance to their children… far greater than our “worldly wishes” and accomplishments for them in this modern world.
Glory to God.
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