Introduction. When a couple begins preparations for their firstborn child, the obvious place to start are the things necessary to make him/her comfortable and help them to thrive. Some focus only on material things, while others realize a child is a sacred trust. Parents have been entrusted with the life and soul of an infant “created in the image and likeness of God” who is completely and totally dependent upon them. All that Jesus said about the “greatest in the kingdom of heaven” being “a servant and slave of all” is also important here. Parents who accept their role as one of service and sacrifice for their children will both be greatly blessed and a great blessing to their children.
Infants are the future. We hold in our hands those who will become men and women shouldering the burdens of the next generation. The time spent training and guiding them in the way of the Lord is an investment in that future. A strong church can only retain its strength when the faith that dwells in each member is passed down to their children. A strong home is the foundation of a strong church, and it is also the foundation of strong schools, stable productive workplaces and a powerful nation. The sand flowing through an hourglass is the perfect illustration of parenting, and it begins the moment a child is brought home. Opportunities to help and guide open and then close one after another. If serving parents do not fully buy up these opportunities, it is often true that they will never return again. God gave children to raise, nurture, love and enjoy. Children are among the most exciting and fulfilling challenges in the dominion God has given the human race.
Infants are the future. We hold in our hands those who will become men and women shouldering the burdens of the next generation. The time spent training and guiding them in the way of the Lord is an investment in that future. A strong church can only retain its strength when the faith that dwells in each member is passed down to their children. A strong home is the foundation of a strong church, and it is also the foundation of strong schools, stable productive workplaces and a powerful nation. The sand flowing through an hourglass is the perfect illustration of parenting, and it begins the moment a child is brought home. Opportunities to help and guide open and then close one after another. If serving parents do not fully buy up these opportunities, it is often true that they will never return again. God gave children to raise, nurture, love and enjoy. Children are among the most exciting and fulfilling challenges in the dominion God has given the human race.
The exciting prospect of successful parenting is equally balanced with the fearful possibility of failure. To come short of properly equipping our child is a great concern to all good and loving parents. God has given the necessary tools and the wisdom to succeed in fulfilling this amazing challenge. It is a stewardship between the parents and the children. As the parable of the sower makes clear, when the spirit returns to God who gave it, all of our efforts to trade and make gain will be assessed. Can we take that blank mind and write the words necessary to build the faith and commitment we so long to give them? God has set forth one Scripture that can become our lighthouse of light and hope to successfully raise our children: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Pr. 22:6).
This is a truism. It covers every aspect and element of training our children. It is the foundation of our public school system and all early training in sports, career, and hobbies. Some things require little effort on the part of parents. Children are trained to speak their native language by the example of their parents. In some countries, parents will speak two or more languages in the home to train them up to be bilingual and when they are old, they do not depart from this ability. Later, they are trained up to read, write and do math. It begins with letters and numbers and slowly but steadily they are trained to understand words and equations. When the training properly done, they will never depart from these things which will be great blessings to them for their entire life. Every facet of the life of our children works exactly the same way. As days turn to weeks and years, children are trained and guided in multitudes of things that will help them for the rest of their lives. Every serving parent recognizes the ability given to them to make the lives of their children more productive and successful than their own.
Yet these are only illustrations of the true power and scope of the passage. It is not simply in secular pursuits, but in the spiritual quest to bring them to God. This conditional promise brings a beacon of hope, a desire and expectation that their labors can bring another soul to God. This passage is one of many that gives a reason for the hope that is the hearts of parents who seek to do all they possibly can to ensure the salvation of their children.
This is why God could say of Abraham, “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” (Gen. 18:19). It is also why Jesus could say, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.” But they must be “trained in the way they should go” and they must be “perfectly trained.” (Lk. 6:40).
All of God’s promises have conditions. Specific things that must be done or the promise will fail. Some conditions are easier to meet than others. For parents, the conditions are critical. We will focus on two of them today. The goal of “perfectly training” children in the “way they should go” must take first priority. This promise is given so parents can plow in hope while “bringing them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4) so their labor will not be in vain. First are the diligent efforts of the parents to train them, and the second centers on the influence of others. The first is completely under the parents’ control, and the second is out of their control. This is the greatest concern for all parents. Paul’s warning: “Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1Cor. 15:33) is also a truism. These evil companions can lurk anywhere. It can be a teacher in school, a friend from school or the church, or those more remote companions created from books, TV, video games or television. Spiritual training given by parents can be undermined and ruined by a “root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” (Heb. 12:15). Only constant vigilance on the part of godly parents can avert the terrible damage such a person or event can do to all their efforts.
Parents who are true servants fulfill God’s command to train the up in the way they should go: “when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deut. 6:7). By doing this, they can not only train, but also learn what their children are thinking and get a better understanding of how others are affecting their thinking. As Paul told Timothy to “be urgent in season and out of season,” so also must parents be. Sometimes their training is general, imparting information they will need some day (out of season). Other times they must use scripture to discuss what is confronting them at that moment, (in season). In this way they can uproot the terrible roots of bitterness before they can do lasting harm. This is a daunting and time-consuming task that only gets harder as children grow older and take more responsibility for their choices. Yet Joshua, at the age of 110 still had enough influence to say: “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15). As serving parents we must never forget, that the saying “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another” applies to our children and grandchildren as long as we live. (Pr. 27:17).
All of this is summed up in Paul’s command to “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4). The specific instructions found in the Law of Moses are the foundation the Holy Spirit built upon to give step by step instructions for parents to follow. First and possibly most important is their own spiritual life. Though we can try, it is exceedingly difficult to pass on to our children what we have never learned ourselves. We can give them factual knowledge, but not practical and easily applicable applications necessary to gain wisdom.
“Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” (Deut. 4:9-10)
Parents (and grandparents) must be “taking heed” and “diligently keeping themselves” before they can teach it to their children. There are two critical considerations in this command. First, children can sense any insincerity in the faith of their parents as hypocrisy. We can’t pass on a “sincere faith” to our children unless we already possess one. The beauty of these instructions is that they force us to grow in our own diligence as we pass them on to our children. What Paul told Timothy, certainly applies to parents: “give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1Tim. 4:15-16)
Conclusion. There are no guarantees with parenting. A “root of bitterness” can arise and destroy all our efforts, we can fall short of “perfectly training” them, or because of their personality we miss something necessary to “train them up in the way they should go.” This passage was not written to lay blame at the feet of parents. It is only to reveal that the opportunity is there. Difficult conditional promises offer great rewards to those who believe and strive with all their hearts to fulfill them.
This is a truism. It covers every aspect and element of training our children. It is the foundation of our public school system and all early training in sports, career, and hobbies. Some things require little effort on the part of parents. Children are trained to speak their native language by the example of their parents. In some countries, parents will speak two or more languages in the home to train them up to be bilingual and when they are old, they do not depart from this ability. Later, they are trained up to read, write and do math. It begins with letters and numbers and slowly but steadily they are trained to understand words and equations. When the training properly done, they will never depart from these things which will be great blessings to them for their entire life. Every facet of the life of our children works exactly the same way. As days turn to weeks and years, children are trained and guided in multitudes of things that will help them for the rest of their lives. Every serving parent recognizes the ability given to them to make the lives of their children more productive and successful than their own.
Yet these are only illustrations of the true power and scope of the passage. It is not simply in secular pursuits, but in the spiritual quest to bring them to God. This conditional promise brings a beacon of hope, a desire and expectation that their labors can bring another soul to God. This passage is one of many that gives a reason for the hope that is the hearts of parents who seek to do all they possibly can to ensure the salvation of their children.
This is why God could say of Abraham, “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” (Gen. 18:19). It is also why Jesus could say, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.” But they must be “trained in the way they should go” and they must be “perfectly trained.” (Lk. 6:40).
All of God’s promises have conditions. Specific things that must be done or the promise will fail. Some conditions are easier to meet than others. For parents, the conditions are critical. We will focus on two of them today. The goal of “perfectly training” children in the “way they should go” must take first priority. This promise is given so parents can plow in hope while “bringing them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4) so their labor will not be in vain. First are the diligent efforts of the parents to train them, and the second centers on the influence of others. The first is completely under the parents’ control, and the second is out of their control. This is the greatest concern for all parents. Paul’s warning: “Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1Cor. 15:33) is also a truism. These evil companions can lurk anywhere. It can be a teacher in school, a friend from school or the church, or those more remote companions created from books, TV, video games or television. Spiritual training given by parents can be undermined and ruined by a “root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” (Heb. 12:15). Only constant vigilance on the part of godly parents can avert the terrible damage such a person or event can do to all their efforts.
Parents who are true servants fulfill God’s command to train the up in the way they should go: “when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deut. 6:7). By doing this, they can not only train, but also learn what their children are thinking and get a better understanding of how others are affecting their thinking. As Paul told Timothy to “be urgent in season and out of season,” so also must parents be. Sometimes their training is general, imparting information they will need some day (out of season). Other times they must use scripture to discuss what is confronting them at that moment, (in season). In this way they can uproot the terrible roots of bitterness before they can do lasting harm. This is a daunting and time-consuming task that only gets harder as children grow older and take more responsibility for their choices. Yet Joshua, at the age of 110 still had enough influence to say: “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15). As serving parents we must never forget, that the saying “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another” applies to our children and grandchildren as long as we live. (Pr. 27:17).
All of this is summed up in Paul’s command to “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4). The specific instructions found in the Law of Moses are the foundation the Holy Spirit built upon to give step by step instructions for parents to follow. First and possibly most important is their own spiritual life. Though we can try, it is exceedingly difficult to pass on to our children what we have never learned ourselves. We can give them factual knowledge, but not practical and easily applicable applications necessary to gain wisdom.
“Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” (Deut. 4:9-10)
Parents (and grandparents) must be “taking heed” and “diligently keeping themselves” before they can teach it to their children. There are two critical considerations in this command. First, children can sense any insincerity in the faith of their parents as hypocrisy. We can’t pass on a “sincere faith” to our children unless we already possess one. The beauty of these instructions is that they force us to grow in our own diligence as we pass them on to our children. What Paul told Timothy, certainly applies to parents: “give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1Tim. 4:15-16)
Conclusion. There are no guarantees with parenting. A “root of bitterness” can arise and destroy all our efforts, we can fall short of “perfectly training” them, or because of their personality we miss something necessary to “train them up in the way they should go.” This passage was not written to lay blame at the feet of parents. It is only to reveal that the opportunity is there. Difficult conditional promises offer great rewards to those who believe and strive with all their hearts to fulfill them.