Each day, as you live with your children, you are presenting a view of reality. You are showing them that you believe that God is good and the rewarder of those who seek Him. By loving God and others, you model the truth that the law of God is good. As you make a priority of worship, you tell them that life is found in God. When you are kind to people who are unkind, you show the magnanimity and kindness of God. Everything you do provides a narrative of truth for your children.
I have recently become a great-grandfather, welcoming two great-granddaughters and one great-grandson into our family. Here are some biblical thoughts about childrearing that I am passing on to my grandchildren and their spouses.
1. Parenting is an important calling that God has given you.
Psalm 78 comes to mind:
He [God] established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God. (Ps. 78:5–7)
What could be more important than passing on truth about God to the next generation? What could be a more significant legacy than generation after generation setting their hope in God? You will have many challenging opportunities in your life, but few will ever be as impactful as raising children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:3).
2. Learning to live under authority is foundational.
In Ephesians 6:1–3, God addresses children: “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” God has drawn a circle in which children are to live. The boundary of the circle is to honor and obey parents. God promises wonderful blessings as a child lives in the circle; it will go well, and they will enjoy long life.
These are blessings every child and parent wants. Honoring and obeying is more profound than just doing what one is told. It is a faith commitment to trust and obey God. In teaching your kids to be under authority, you demonstrate the foundational truth that submission to God’s authority is the pathway to blessing.
3. The heart is the wellspring of life.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flows the springs of life. (Prov. 4:23)
Life flows from the heart.