Raising a child is an awesome
responsibility. The home is
the place where children learn
who they are, what they can
do, and what is expected of
them.
WHAT CHILDREN NEED
The home is the place where a
child develops a sense of
security and self-confidence.
As love and value are
liberally communicated, a
child learns to feel that he
is worth something to his
family, thus he will sense
worth to himself. Most
importantly, he will feel that
he is worth much to God and
others.
A child also gets a snapshot
of life from his home. For
instance, if there are
limitations, disciplines, and
rules in the home, then a
child learns that he is not a
law unto himself. If there is
no respect for authority
inside the home, he will grow
up with no respect for
authority outside the home.
Lastly, the home is where a
child receives his first
concept of God. If the home
does not shower love, mercy,
grace, and concern on that
child, then his concept of God
may be warped.
WHAT SOCIETY OFFERS
Though I've built quite a
convincing argument about the
importance of the family upon
the raising of a child, I'm
afraid that many of us have
allowed outsiders to influence
our children. We're taking
them to art and music classes,
encouraging their
participation in sports,
clubs, and more. It seems
we've allowed our children's
minds to be shaped by all
kinds of messages at the movie
theater and library, on the
television and billboards, in
the magazines, and not to
mention the Internet!
Now, let me quickly add that I
don't mind children becoming
involved in activities or
having a parent-approved
exposure to the media, but we
must rightfully recognize the
role of the family versus the
role of the community – and
even the world – in the
raising of our children.
In attempting to explain the
importance of parental and
societal influence in the life
of a child, Hillary Clinton
wrote a book entitled, "It
Takes A Village: And Other
Lessons Children Teach Us." In
all due respect, I must
disagree. It takes families to
make a village. And it takes a
family to raise a child.
WHAT WE MUST DO
The first step in taking back
our families from society and
building strong families for
our Lord is to have faith. It
is up to parents to nurture
children with the truth and
love of the Savior. One way
you can do this is to
communicate values about your
Christian faith.
Believe God For Your Child
As a parent, you must believe
God for your child. In Mark 9
we read the account of the man
who brought his
demon-possessed son to Jesus
for deliverance. Mark 9:23-24
says, "Jesus said unto him,
'If thou canst believe, all
things are possible to him
that believeth.' And
straightway the father of the
child cried out, and said with
tears, 'Lord, I believe; help
thou mine unbelief.' "
God did not put the burden
upon the child to believe, God
put the burden upon the parent
to believe. That boy needed
somebody to have faith for
him. He was powerless. Will
you believe God for your
child?
Train Your Child In Godliness
It is your divine job to train
your child to follow the
course of life that will bring
God glory. Proverbs 22:6 says,
"Train up a child in the way
he should go: and when he is
old, he will not depart from
it."
Training is more than
teaching. Take some time each
week to not only talk to your
child about how to overcome
the temptations of this world,
but also train him or her to
be an overcomer. If you don't
do it, someone else will . . .
or something else will.
When you train children in the
important matters of faith,
you teach, model, practice,
and memorize the skill or
lesson so that no matter how
rebellious they may want to
be, they have the skill, the
knowledge, and the character
to restrain themselves. Most
of all, when they are saved,
they have the Holy Spirit to
empower them against the
temptations of Satan.
I invite you to come before
God right now and commit your
family to Him. Bring to Him
every need that your child
has. Confess to Him your fears
and failures as a parent.
Rejoice in His power to
forgive and make all things
new. Ask Him to give you the
kind of faith you're going to
need to raise your children in
the way that He would want.
Now, believe that God is going
to grant your request that you
have asked in faith.
by: Dr. Adrian Rogers
http://www.oneplace.com/Ministries/Love_Worth_Finding/
