Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.
Today I sat in Bible study with a multi-generational group of women. I am the only one in the group who has a young kid. One mom has a junior high and high school kid. One just graduated her kids from college, and the other two are in the grandma stage. The interesting thread that went throughout the "empty nesters" prayer requests was adult children who have walked away from the Lord.
Of course, we parents have to do our part in training up the child in the way he should go, but ultimately, it is their choice whether or not to follow it. I think many parents claim this verse and then assume they've done something wrong when they've trained up their child. They do the "what if" game. What if I'd been a better example? What if I'd prayed for my child more? What if I'd _________.
We parents forget that our children make a choice about their salvation...and their behavior. We also forget that God has timing that is very different than ours. One of the ladies shared that her uncle (in his late 60s) just gave his life to the Lord because his brother, who had been a living example of a life changed by Christ, passed away and he realized that he needed God in his life since dependable brother was gone. Apparently his parents had been praying for him since he was a teen. They'd died 15 or so years before the brother died and prayed for him all those years. Then, the brother had taken over. Yet it was after both of them had gone home that the Lord answered their prayers.
Take heart! God's timing is an enigma to me for sure, but He's never late!
Today I sat in Bible study with a multi-generational group of women. I am the only one in the group who has a young kid. One mom has a junior high and high school kid. One just graduated her kids from college, and the other two are in the grandma stage. The interesting thread that went throughout the "empty nesters" prayer requests was adult children who have walked away from the Lord.
Of course, we parents have to do our part in training up the child in the way he should go, but ultimately, it is their choice whether or not to follow it. I think many parents claim this verse and then assume they've done something wrong when they've trained up their child. They do the "what if" game. What if I'd been a better example? What if I'd prayed for my child more? What if I'd _________.
We parents forget that our children make a choice about their salvation...and their behavior. We also forget that God has timing that is very different than ours. One of the ladies shared that her uncle (in his late 60s) just gave his life to the Lord because his brother, who had been a living example of a life changed by Christ, passed away and he realized that he needed God in his life since dependable brother was gone. Apparently his parents had been praying for him since he was a teen. They'd died 15 or so years before the brother died and prayed for him all those years. Then, the brother had taken over. Yet it was after both of them had gone home that the Lord answered their prayers.
Take heart! God's timing is an enigma to me for sure, but He's never late!
1 comment:
For a Mom that has played the "what if" game over and over, and prayed for years over the children who remain lost, that was very comforting coming from my daughter. Thanks, Mandie.
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