Training our Children in Christ

A VBS ( Vacation Bible School) Director who went to lead VBS in one of our cities once told me, that when he enquired why a particular child  was not sent for VBS,the parents replied that they had sent their child for Table manners class. And they also added, that they had plans to send the child to the United States for higher education, for which they wanted the child to develop the skill to use the fork and the knife, and other table manners. So this director very curiously asked the mother as to how old was her child. Her reply stunned him because the child was just 6 years old.So much of care is taken today by the parents to see that their  children are well equipped to face the future, even in such trivial matters. But I wonder how much effort is put in by  parents to prepare the child for eternity? Summer classes in pottery and carpentry attract more students than our VBS. Why?

Parents have turned their focus on the temporal things of the world and have very conveniently ignored the things  that are of eternal importance. This is even reflected in the attitude of the present younger generation.One of the Sunday school teacher remarked this way, There is a marked difference in the students who come from homes with sound Christian teaching and the ones who do not This is not only true with regard to their Bible Knowledge but it also reflects in their behaviour, thinking pattern and  attitudes . I believe this is a note worthy remark. What we sow is what we reap. If we sow seeds that are only of earthly importance that is what we will reap.

The Bible warns us that we will reap destruction if we only sow to the flesh( Gal 6:7,8). One of the things that we fail to understand is the wholeness of life that Christ can provide when we train our children in the fear of the Lord ( John 10:10).The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. All the attempts we make to achieve great things in life, without the fear of God, ends up usually in frustration and disappointment. But all our attempts with the Lord, makes life more meaningful and rewarding. That is the promise of Jesus Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Matthew 6:33. But very few parents have understood the significance of prioritizing God before they seek the other things of life. We often put God and matters that concerns the soul some where in the outer periphery. That is why Jesus said, O what profits a man, if he gains the whole world
but loses his own soul(Mark 8:36).

Many parents are hurting about their children today  because they never gave importance to the eternal aspect of life. They never trained their children in the way he or she should go.

Training Should Start Early

Parents should start training and disciplining early in life.Discipline your child in his early years while there is hope,If you don t, you will ruin his life.. Prov:19:18.Discipline in every sphere of life is important. This includes Spiritual, Physical intellectual and emotional. Disciplining early helps to mould the child easily as they are very teachable. If parents do not start early discipling could become very difficult as they may reach a stage of hardness. First and foremost, children should be taught to love the Lord with all their heart, with all their soul and all their strength. Deut:6:6-9, is a reminder to the people of God that they should follow the commandments of God and that they should also impress it upon their children.The Bible exhorts them to talk about the commands of God, when they  sit at home, when they walk along the road, when they lie down and get up.

What does this mean? The Lord wanted the coming generation to know and love Him at a very early age , that God would become their utmost priority. The Lord says , that these things should be kept so that It may go well with you Deut:6:18. Therefore, when we desire the best for our children,let the the Lord be given the first place.Today we live in a world of information technology. Lot of Information is being passed on to our children. A small child knows so much about computers and other things of the world, but how much does the same child know about his or her Creator? Many are fooled to think that if children are left to themselves they will naturally develop holy, self-sacrificing and good characters that we desire. No, not at all!Parents can be highly disappointed when their children turn out to be little devils, or grow up to be very much like the big ones.Gone are the days when memorizing Scripture was stressed upon our children. So Biblical knowledge has become very less with our children. With the advent of Media and technologies lot of importance is given today to so much of junk . Our children know more about film stars and their details than about our Lord. Mothers know more about the T.V. serial and its actors and fathers know more about the stock markets and other financial matters than their knowledge of God.If the Word of God and the desire to love the Lord are priorities for the parents then their advise to their  children will be fruitful.

Training Should be Based on Our Own Example

Training should start early and our training should be based on our own example. The parents should be an example to their children.During childhood,the greatest hero for a child could be his or her parents .Lot of valuable lessons are  imbibed by just watching their parents. Hence parents should be cautious as they can communicate even negative messages.A Child was once asked during his Birthday, what do you want to do when you grow Big? The Child replied, I want to smoke like my daddy. The small child is waiting to grow up so that he can smoke like his father.Parents, are you an example? Are you bringing up your children in the fear of the Lord? Parents should not preach what they don t practice. Remember, Action speaks louder than words. Parent s life style can become their role models. Are we a role model? This includes, moral, ethical, spiritual, and all aspects of life. So parents beware of your example.

Training should be based on the Child s Uniqueness

In Prov.22:6 the Bible says Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.So there should be basic training that should take place in the life of a child , which the child will hold on till the old age. Hence there should be a conscious training that should be given to the child, of-course, keeping in mind their own uniqueness. Every child has his or her own peculiarity and that peculiarity should not be ignored.As Charles Swindoll says, Our child is given to us with certain bents, which cannot be straightened, and the creator has designed such bents, which also forms part of their interest and personality. So we need to discover as a parent those unique bents that our children possess. Keeping in mind these bents or traits (which is responsible for their peculiarity) we need to train them. So no parent should attempt to make an Engineer out of someone who has no inclination for Mathematics. The child might be good at language learning. We need to think of developing that art in order to see the child blooming in the area of his/her interest.Many disasters happen because parents force their desire upon the child for which the child is not suited. That is why the Bible says, Train up the child in the way he should go The way he or she should go is to be determined by seeing his or her interest in life. Having worked with professional college students in Karnataka state, India,  for the past 6 years, I feel this is the area where many parents make their mistake in Child rearing.Students struggle with their subjects, and they fail miserably because they are forced into it because of parents pressure
 and desire. So they take so many years to finish their course and many students some how struggle to sail through itMany parents have failed to recognize the particular bents of their children and have forced their desire on their children and have made them real victims of their own desire and status.

Conclusion

Christian training starts at home.

Sunday school and churches cannot substitute what has to be done at home by parents. These organizations can only compliment the work that the parents are doing. So if any parents are satisfied, because they have sent their children for religious activities and have failed to do their role as parents in training their children in Christ, they are not doing the right thing.I have not covered the various aspects of training, but have just made an attempt to emphasize the need to prioritize Christ in our homes and the need to be sensitive to our child s uniqueness. This will help us to some extent to prepare our Children not only for the present but also for eternity.