Instrument Rated – Part 8

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

Instrument rated for parenthood. Parents today face unique problems that no other generation has. But God’s Word is timeless, so: 1) Enforce discipline. ‘Whom the Lord loves He corrects…’ (Proverbs 3:12). A famous evangelist says when he was growing up his mother had a belt that hung on the wall of their home with a text written above it: ‘I need thee every hour’. Teach your child that every decision has consequences. And don’t rescue them from their consequences, for life won’t let them off the hook when they do wrong. 2) Teach them God’s ways. ‘Train up a child in the way that he should go: and…he will not depart from it’ (Proverbs 22:6). Give your child a taste of the things of God when they are young, and when they’re older the world won’t be able to satisfy their taste. 3) Commit them to the Lord. This isn’t easy; it’s like allowing them to take the family car out for the first time. But there comes a point where God, not you, must speak to them and guide them. They’ll either learn the easy way or the hard way. And even if they do go astray, God promises that they’ll come back again (Jeremiah 31:16-17). So pray, ‘Lord, they’re Yours now. I’ve taught them and set an example, now I give them to You. Deal with them according to Your perfect will’. Does that mean everything will be okay from that point on? Maybe, and maybe not. But like a pilot who flies according to his instruments, you must stand on the Word of God for your children.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, my children, they’re Yours now. I’ve taught them and set an example, now I give them to You. Deal with them according to Your perfect will. Amen