Monday, January 5, 2009

January 6

Jan 6 - Today from Proverbs 6 we look at verses 20-22
"My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you."

Our first encounters with instruction are from our parents. Proverbs is neither a book of law nor a book of promises. It’s a book of wisdom. It mostly deals with life as it should be, or why it isn't always as it should be. Parents are to be very careful to be moral agents in teaching their children about life. Most parents are. Children should follow parental instruction in the area of morals because parents have lived a lot more of life than their children. And if parents are indeed growing in wisdom as they process years of life, it means they will increasingly be functioning as God purposed. Just as our heavenly Father, they will always be looking to serve the best interests of their children. The apostle Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God." (1 Thes. 2:11, 12). It is a great model for parents to follow.
When a child can trust that parents serve their best interests, a child will usually learn to follow instruction. (Yes, I said usually. They are free moral agents, just like we are.) A Godly parent who earns the trust of their child and instructs them in wisdom will indelibly impress moral behavior somewhere in that child's character. As Godly parents, we are to do our best to instill wisdom in our children. We are to live exemplary moral lives before them. We are to allow our children to make mistakes and to learn from those mistakes. We are to love them unconditionally, and to pray over them all the days of their lives. Our job is to properly love them. It’s God’s job to make them good.
I can tell you from personal experience, that even when a child goes into rebellion - even deep rebellion - the indelibly etched instruction and exemplary model of the parents can eventually prove to be a huge factor in seeing that child come back. And again - never underestimate the power of prayer. In fact, you can fashion a prayer out of this passage for your children;

"Lord, bind your moral law upon the hearts of our children. Let your word guide them when they walk, protect them when they sleep, and speak to their hearts when they awaken. And Lord, grant me grace today to do my part - to instruct them in your ways, to be a Godly example unto them, and to love them unconditionally. Amen."

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