Leading Our Children

(Here is a follow-up post by Pastor Paul Chappell from his daily devotional email list which goes along with the earlier post this week found here on my blog site. Parents are to lead their children!!!)

2 Timothy 3:14–17 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Over the last few days we have seen that we as parents are given the privilege and responsibility of raising our children for the Lord. God desires that we as parents would take this responsibility seriously and seek His help. We have seen the steps God has given us in raising children who love Him. Today, let’s see how we must lead our children in making right decisions.

First, we must lead them to salvation. We cannot force our children to get saved or to accept Christ, but we can influence them spiritually. We can teach them of God’s gift of salvation and of His sacrifice on the Cross. We can tell them of our need for His redemption and of His promise of Heaven. We can fill their hearts with stories about God.

Sometimes people say, “I’m just going to let my child make up his own mind about religion.” But this is not wise! Proverbs 29:15 says, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” The Bible warns us that if we fail to nurture a child and lead them to right decisions, they will bring us to shame! We must be actively teaching our children about salvation so they will want to trust Christ as their Saviour.

Second, we must also lead them to separation. We see a perfect example of a young person who was separated in Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” I am sure this decision was not made on impulse but came from years of right parenting by Daniel’s parents.

We must lead our children to be set apart from the world. So many young people today are trying to “fit in” but we must show our children that God desires for them to be separate. We must teach them to set standards for themselves and to be separate like Daniel.

Last, we must lead our children to be surrendered to God. We can’t make the decisions for our children, but we can lead them in the way they need to go. We must lead them to have a sensitive heart toward God and His leading in their lives.

It is so vital that we instill these principles in our children at a young age. As parents, we must be leading our children by actively teaching them the things of God. We must also be modeling separation and surrender in our lives so our children will see our examples.

Are you leading your children to know and love God? Are you helping them develop godly habits and principles in their lives? Because the devil is active in trying to corrupt our children’s hearts, we must be active in protecting them and leading them to God. Ask God for help in leading your children. Commit to helping your child live for God by teaching them and leading them today.