Wings
of Light
by Don Couch
A Question for Parents:
What's the Most Important Thing?
Psalm 127:3-5 “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are ones children. So are the children of ones youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They shall not be ashamed, when they speak with their enemies in the gates.”
The arrows of a warrior are aimed at a target and released with a purpose. For what purpose are we training up our children? Is our goal for them to have a high GPA? High SAT scores? An athletic scholarship or for great success? These are great goals and we want our kids to strive for goals that will help them have a prosperous and successful adult life. But are these the things that satisfy? Do they bring the peace that passes understanding? No.
Remember the story of the rich young ruler and the man with riches who stored them away? They were both fools, thinking that their wealth was all they needed to live a prosperous and successful life. But they were missing something. For what purpose shall we train our children? Our purpose should be to raise up children who will become born-again servants of God. How do we do that?
- Provide our children with spiritual nurture
Just as the body needs physical nourishment, the soul and spirit need spiritual nourishment. We must plainly teach the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says, “Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work.”
We are to take all opportunities to teach our children the divine things of God. Recently I was asked, “When do we do this? When do we have the time?” Setting aside a block of time to have a family devotion is a great idea, but it is not all that the scripture speaks of. The words of verse 7 tell us, “talk of them (the Word of God) when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Talk of them any time during the day while you are together. Whenever God brings a teaching moment into your life, take it. God says His word, “shall not return to Him empty, without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Rely on that promise.
- Express genuine interest and concern in the lives of your children
I Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of the household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Christians are to provide more than food, clothing and shelter for their family. Even the unbeliever knows to do that. We are to provide an atmosphere of love. In I Corinthians 13, Paul says, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant; does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Love never quits.
This love compels us to want to share our lives with and be a part of the lives of the members of our family. This love compels us to encourage and support each other in all times and help in all circumstances. The house built on the rock stands firm because when the rains come down, the prayers go up.
- We must set a good pattern for our children to copy
I Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” We want to be a model that our children can copy. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What you do speaks so loud I can’t hear what you say.”
Is our walk consistent with our talk? Are we sending mixed messages? Do we say God is the most important thing and live like He is just one of many things to consider when a choice must be made? Does our life reflect the Lordship of Christ as the only thing to consider when we make our daily choices, about how we live our lives? When Paul wrote Timothy, he said, “When I call remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother Eunice, an I am persuaded that in thee also.” Paul acknowledged the positive influence Timothy’s family had in the development of his faith. May we leave that heritage for our children and grandchildren.
Teaching, providing, heritage – that’s a tall order. How can we do that?
In II Kings 6:1-7, we read a short story of how Elisha went with the sons of the prophets to build a new place to live. They went down to the Jordan and began to cut wood. One of the men was cutting a beam with an axe. The axe head came off and flew into the water. The axe was borrowed and the man was upset because he could not pay for the axe. The man showed Elisha where the axe had had fallen into the water, and Elisha cut down a stick and cast it into the water. The Bible says, “And the iron did swim.” No problem is too big for God.
“Children are a gift from God”. God did not give you the blessing of children and leave you on your own to fail. The God who loves you enough to give His only Begotten Son for your salvation wants to give you all you required, and more, to raise your children.
When you think there is no solution, when circumstances are difficult and you need a break, take it to Jesus and see the axe swim.
