Raising Children: Hard Work Ahead

“. . .I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.” -2 Timothy 1:5

Timothy was a young man whom Paul considered his “true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). He spent a lot of time with Paul and Paul had a lot of trust in him. The above scripture notes that Timothy had “genuine faith.” This genuine faith was a heritage, a legacy of sorts passed down to him from his grandmother and mother. This faith started with them and passed on to become godly seed.

Christian parents have a huge responsibility. We are charged with teaching our children the ways of God and discipling and disciplining them effectively to that end. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” – Deuteronomy 6:7 We are to show our children how to live, think, act, and worship.

We do this by first modeling the Christian walk in our own daily lives. The way we respond to our children, to others, and to our circumstances speaks volumes to the next generation. Their eyes watch constantly, wanting to see what Mom does next. Beginning at a young age, they will emulate everything we do. They put on our shoes and prance around the house. Seeing us in the kitchen they will grab a bowl and spoon and pretend to stir a culinary concoction.

They want to be like us.

The precedent for our childrens’ lives starts with the parents.

Let’s move on by examining what discipling and discipline are.

By definition, to disciple is:

1. To teach; to train, or bring up.

To Discipline is to:

1. To instruct or educate; to inform the mind; to prepare by instructing in correct principles and habits; as, to discipline youth for a profession, or for future usefulness.

2. To instruct and govern; to teach rules and practice, and accustom to order and subordination; as, to discipline troops or an army.

3. To correct; to chastise; to punish.

4. To execute the laws of the church on offenders, with a view to bring them to repentance and reformation of life.

5. To advance and prepare by instruction.

Discipling and discipline are never easy. It means getting down in the dirt, mud on our faces, tiring, exhausting, heart-rending combat for our children’s souls. We are down in the trenches with our children, showing them the way, step-by-step.

The way of modern parenting is that we expect kids to figure it out on their own. We send our children out to the world with a great education in academics but little to no foundation in the ways of our God. Our children earn their degrees and get wonderful jobs because they have been pushed and molded and shaped in knowledge of God’s world. Yet they do not know how to obey and worship the Creator.

I urge you, when your children are young, to begin a close relationship with them. Take every opportunity to talk to them of God and His ways and who He is. Show them and model for them how to respond appropriately to circumstances and to other people. Guide them like a shepherd and keep them close. Discipline them when they do wrong and then train them in how they should act the next time. God nurtures and trains and disciplines us. He does not expect us to learn these things on our own but teaches us constantly. In the same way we need to teach our children.

This year, while it is still a new year, I urge you to prayerfully consider if you are truly discipling your children the way He would have you. If not, hold a meeting with your husband on what steps need to be taken in order to train them up as Deuteronomy 6 tells us to. If your husband is not a Christian or is disinterested in this process this does not mean that you should lose heart. Timothy’s father and grandfather are not mentioned but his mother and grandmother are. One parent can make all the difference.

Our children are God’s gifts to us. Let’s make sure we do all we can to raise them up to bring glory to Him.

Today Teri Lynne has written another post for this Fresh Year, Fresh Start parenting week. Entitled Discipline: Making Disciples of Our Children she shares practicle ways of disciplining our children to become disciples for Him. Also, be sure to visit Kristi’s blog so that you can see a daily recap of each day’s posts and a link-up on Fridays that you can participate in.

Photo credit: sundstrom

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