Our God Given Parental Responsibility~ It’s simply amazing to think that God in His Infinite Wisdom saw it fit, using parents as a means to bring fort life, as we do. A new being.....alive, rational, and eternal! Can anything that we as humans achieve on earth, carry more weight and be more elevated, than this? The birth of a baby is something that will always amaze us, but it is also the birth of a new soul, and therefore much more than just a physical birth. What’s more mind-boggling, is the fact that a unique individual, whose spirit will live forever, has been created. We must realize as young parents, when looking at our newly born child, that an eternal life was created, through us, in the process. It’s a flame that was lit by us that will never die, no matter what such a life will encounter through the years ahead. Just think about it, for a while there were just the two of you, and all of a sudden, another being in your family, with its own personality and consciousness, that will live forever. There’s no power in this creation that can undo that. The parents have lit a flame, which will last forever, either with the glory of becoming one in Christ, or spending an eternity of sheer depression and misery. These two end results places an enormous burden upon parents. They can either be the instruments through which each of their children was given the gift of eternal life, or otherwise choosing the other route. Can there be a greater responsibility that is given to parents, than to rear their offspring in the ways of our Lord, and to set an example of Godliness in our day to day conduct, thus exposing them to God’s Grace? In Proverbs 22:6 parents are given wisdom to teach their children how they should live. But how should one live? Ephesians 6:4 teaches that children should be reared in the ways of the Lord. But what is the right way? Whatever the answer is, the fact is, for most of the child’s upbringing, he/she will be totally incompetent to answer this question. As a matter of fact, he/she won’t even be able to implement it. It’s inevitable; the parent has to make the decisions at that stage. Parents must obviously allow their children to develop as independent individuals. Fact is, that God in His Infinite Wisdom has given parents a very important role to play in the upbringing of their children. Every parent must make use of everything that the Lord has provided in the process. The parent must make use of every opportunity, and not waste time. He/she must set the example, mentor and discipline with authority, when necessary. He/she should without hesitation make use of their experiences in life, especially teaching the truth and also what’s right and what’s wrong. He/she must teach the child everything learnt in life. They must convince the child of what they are convinced of. What a powerful influence, that is! For all practical purposes, this means that children are at the mercy of their parents. Nowhere else does God give so much power to man. What has more eternal value than to being raised by godly parents? Herein lays the awesome responsibility that are placed squarely on the shoulders of parents! If God has given us as parents this almost godlike role in birthing and guiding of our children, even what their eternal destiny would turn out to be, shouldnt we be serious about it? Oh Lord, please help us! The question is; What is the most important contribution that a parent can, and must make in the life of his/her child? What must be taught more than anything else? Many would answer: moral values- the difference between right and wrong! Of course that’s important, without a doubt. But yet it’s not the most important. Morality on its own will not grant anyone eternal life. What is Truth? What are the cornerstones of the Truth without which we dare not let our children venture out into life? God- His holy character and perfect standards as He has revealed to us. Man- his accountability unto his Creator, but also his shortcomings to this elevated calling. Jesus Christ- God’s only but perfect solution to our awful dilemma. It is so that these elements of truth that’s eternally important will merely be academic information to our children, if they don’t see it being implemented in our daily lifestyle. We must actually model it, daily. They must see it make a positive change in the lives of others. They must see the unmistakable difference in the lives of those for whom Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and those that are caught in worldly lifestyles, relying on their own abilities. The essence of our task as parents is to teach them the truth on a daily basis, through a life of discipleship, visibly. Teaching them patiently, and molding their conscience on God’s laws. Praying that God would engrave His Truth in their hearts. It’s to fellowship at a congregation, where the Word is being preached as God intends for it to be preached. Where the congregants follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and worship God in truth and in spirit. To teach your children the difference between truth and lies, between being real and being a fake. Let us fail in other things, but not in this. What about those of us whose failures seem to be non reversible? God always give grace to the humble. When a humble person prays, there is almost nothing that’s non-reversible! ~Our God Given Parental Responsibility (By Nico van der Walt)
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:10:45 +0000