JESUS SAVE OUR CHILDREN
By
Ruby Odutayo
“Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Parenting comes with many joys, responsibilities, and, hardships. Infant children are something great and holy. They are worth our love and labors of love. They are totally dependant on adults to care for them because of their fragility, weakness and neediness. Our goal as parents should be to create in our children a self–image that is healthy and rooted in Christ; and, to strengthen that character. The world and it’s evil master stalks around our children with all their forces and deceitful tactics in order to ensure their future victory by corrupting them very early in life. This is the reason that all parents are to strive to become the parents God wants us to be. God doesn’t expect perfection from us. That’s why His best gifts involve grace, mercy, and forgiveness. If our children are to be saved, it will be by the grace of God.
Infants are saved without their knowledge by sovereign grace because there is no other way to save them. They cannot respond to the gospel, exercise saving faith, make decisions, or do any work, and must, then be saved solely by the sovereign grace of God. However, as the infant grows into childhood, than training should begin. Children must start training when they are very young. Train them while they are still innocent, humble, docile, simple, meek, submissive, and obedient. These are the beautiful and outstanding characteristics of childhood. And, they are precisely the characteristics we need to share in the kingdom of heaven. The Lord said, except you become as one of these, you cannot enter my kingdom.
Proverbs 22:6 teaches us to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it. This is the task of parenting. Parents have a responsibility to train, (to set boundaries, to repeatedly give a sense of direction to their children, to reinforce it, to model it, to exact consequences when they go in the wrong direction) to live a godly life. When children are raised in an environment where they feel valued and special, yet held accountable for their actions, the motivation for them to attach themselves to gangs or some other destructive groups that are going to rip their lives to shreds is very minimum. Gang membership offers kids status, acceptance, and self-esteem they haven’t found elsewhere. We can understand our children’s behavior better if we recognize that children always make decisions to serve a purpose for themselves. Therefore, train up children in the way they should go. Lack of training ruin children and corrupt them to fester in the heart of society and the ones who neglected them. Training will help children to choose good behavior to get good results.
Our children are from God, who are on loan to us for a few years and we have been given the privilege and opportunity to bring them up to become healthy functioning adults. This task requires the very best we have to offer in commitment, dedication, persistence, and love.
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians is encouraging us to be good and godly parents, in healthy authority over our children; loving them no matter what. (Christ, our Lord and Savior, loved us while we were yet sinners). Also, our children must know that we serve a mighty purpose in their lives and deserve love respect and honor from them. To assure that we don’t collapse and crumble under difficulties, parents must stay under the mantle and protection of God as we work with courage and hope. Giving thanks to Him for all things.
In the book of Hebrews, we are taught that being the parents God wants us to be also requires us to discipline and correct our children. [For who the Lord loves He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receives. (Hebrews 12:6)
Solomon, in the book of Proverbs gives us this: He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (Proverbs 13:24)] Start early. Correct children when their actions are ungodly while they are young. It is not cute or godly when young children, yell at, curse, hit, ignore, or disrespect their parents in any way. It is not godly when children are making choices that will later wreak havoc in their lives. Make sure every punishment is for the children’s good. We’ve got to function as parents teaching our kids that life doesn’t revolve around them. Bible history and proverbs both demonstrate that at times punishment, a “rod of correction” is the best way to show love when children will not respond to verbal guidance. Our Heavenly Father punishes all His children when we indulge in sin and defiantly ignore His Word.
Paul writes in Ephesians 6:1-4: Obedience to parents brings blessings and long life. And, parents should not punish their children unnecessarily for their own pleasure. Rather, bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves, along with suggestions and godly advice.
We have been assured, via Christ’s prayer, that none which God the Father hath given Him shall be lost. John 17:9-12 “…Holy father, keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me, that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name; those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost….”
So parents, teach your children that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. John 8:12 says, “then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.