II John 4 "I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father."
There is no greater joy for a parent than to see and know that their children are saved and living their lives for the Lord and according to His Word.
On the other hand...there is no greater sadness and burden on the heart of a parent who raised their child or children according to God's Word and see them go the way of the world. I know many parents who trained up their children by God's Word...and had them in church all their lives...prayed with them and for them...only to see them forsake those teachings and go their own way and not God's way.
I feel very blessed to be able to say that...to this point in their lives...my children are living for God and serving Him in our church. Not all parents can say this. I understand that there is always that chance that my children would turn and go their own way. Just the thought of that burdens my heart. It's always easy for them to go God's way when they live at home and they know they don't have a choice. Our children know that as long as they live at home that they will be expected to participate in the things of God and going to church. The true test will come when they get married and move into their own home. We can only pray that they take what they learned growing up and continue with it when they have a home of their own.
Fewer homes these days are living according to God's Word because the children are growing up and either move out on their own prematurely and choose to forsake what they were taught or they get married and don't live how they learned to live while at home with momma and daddy.
We as parents do have a promise from God if we train up our children as God would have us to. Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." What a blessing if a parent can say they can rejoice to find that their children walk in truth. And what a sadness there is for those who can't say that.
We as parents can only do all we know to do with the help of the Lord to train our children God's ways...but the ultimate decision will become theirs if they choose it as an adult or not.
18 comments:
Great lesson! Last night in church our Pastor preaching out of II Timothy told us that as Christians we need to live our lives completely for the Lord both in church and out of church and that just because we may think we don't influence anyone there are always people watching to see how we live our lives and if we have children we have a great responsibility to do so, and if they are the only ones we influence in life by the way we live according to the Bible and if that leads them to the Lord then it will be worth it all!
I have seen in recent years how many parents once their children have grown up and moved out it's the parents that now feel they don't have to keep up the standards they once had and they are the ones that begin to fall away~So sad.
Thanks again for this post.
Sorry for the Essay ;)
~Amy
sis. amy...thank you so much for your comment. Don't worry about the length of your comment. I love for people to share their hearts and their experiences in their comments. Length is not an option. I have left "books" on other people's sites when I've commented. Sometimes it takes a long comment to get a thought out and explained. I just appreciate you coming by and leaving them.
Julie what you write is so true. When I read that I thought of my step son even though my husband and I did not raise him and he was not raised in the church. I wish we would had been able to be more of an influence in his life. I pray we are able to be an influence in his child's life now. I pray my children live godly lives now and always.
Great Post.
Sis. Julie, I gave you an award. I don't know if you accept them or not but you were one of the first to come to my mind so I had to give it to you. It is such a special award. You can do with it what you like. Thank you for being such a good example. connie from Texas
sis. tiffany....your step son didn't even come to mind when I was preparing this post. I know that is a burden on you and your husband's hearts. All you can do is pray and be the influence that you can be when God gives you opportunity.
sis. connie...thank you so much. I really am humbled by the awards that my fellow bloggers give me. I don't turn around and give them out to anyone because I find it so hard to choose who to give them to. I don't have anything on my site saying that I don't do anything with the awards only because I don't know how to word it and where to put it. I have so much on my site already. Thank you again Sis. Connie! You are such a blessing to me!!
good post sis. Julie your children are a blessing to me they are so polite I can tell they love and respect you and Bro Ron and most of all they love and Respect the Lord. Good Job!!! Raising them.
sis. marsheila...I had you on my mind as I was preparing this post. I know that your heart is burdened for your own children. Just keep praying and know that your church is praying for you and for them. You brought them up with the teachings of Christ and God will honor that. Love you!!
Julie,
I know the burden you speak of... both of my children married Christian young men and they now have strong Christian families...
however my siblings are another story... I have seen my mother cry many a tear over a few of my brothers and sisters... but the scripture is correct... they have all come back to the Lord... and now we share a wonderful relationship...
but it was a long time in coming and it took years of prayer!!
so anyone who is having concern with their children or other family members...
Never Stop Praying For Them!!
sis. mimi....what a blessing that you have seen this promise of God fulfilled in your own life and family. Thank you for sharing this with the other readers so they can be encouraged to keep trusting God.
Oh boy! My thoughts have been on this very subject alot lately. Having a 20 year old son, living out of the home, is showing me that my job as a mom will never end. I pray more for him now than I think I ever did before. His every decision will make or break him. SO far, so good. He is still faithful in church. Of course, I see weakness in him, but hey, I have weaknesses too!
sis. pam...yes we all do. I'm just afraid that their weaknesses are more magnified when they are away because of the concern that they may be beginning to slip. Keep praying!! That is all you can do now.
What a tremendous responsibility this task it, training and raising children for the glory of God. What a shame it's often neglected and disregarded these days. I do hope I'm up to the challenge if God blesses me with children.
anna....as long as you seek God and accept His help in it...you'll do fine.
MRs Julie what a tremendous post. You are right about what you said in your post. I am glad that your kids love the Lord and want to serve him, and that is in a Pastor's home. I believe you and preacher have done a great job raising your kids and guarding them the best you good against the wickedness of this world. I believe each of them will go on and do great things for the Lord and the reason being because you have put those boundaries up and you have prayed and raised them according to the Bible. We love you all.
Bro Tim
bro. tim....thank you so much!! It is not us for sure...but the grace of God and His mercy that has allowed our kids to turn out for Him thus far. Thank you for you kind comments concerning how we are training up our kids. There are many who give us flack and don't understand...but we look at it this way...God gave them to US and WE will be held accountable for how we raise them so others need to understand that and leave us alone. You are a blessing to us and have had a part in their raising as well with you having been their youth leader for the years you were with us and also their SS teacher. We praise God for you!!
Hi Julie,
Thank you for another great post and reminder that even if we did all we could to prepare our children and they still chose the path of the world, that we still have Gods promise to count on..that because we trained them, they will eventually come back to the Lord..because what we taught them is embedded deep into their heart and soul. Even if they take a detour at some point, I believe the Lord will bring them back to Him again.
Lovely post,
Candy :)
sis. candy...I'm so glad the post encouraged you. Thank you for commenting.
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