PARENTING-ENCOURAGEMENT
No growing
occurs, however, without the realization that we cannot progress in our
faithfulness to God without the supernatural work of the Spirit. This
acknowledgment keeps us from pride in our maturity, or from too hasty judgment
of others’ spiritual condition. For instance, I can be tempted to take pride in
my parenting by virtue of my children’s wonderful record of scholarship and
conduct. However, I may learn upon my entry into heaven that the reason God so
blessed me was that my faith was too weak to have persevered with the more
troubled children of other Christian parents (whom I too frequently judge for
the apparent failings). The challenges of raising a child are as much for the
sanctification of the parents as they are for the benefit of the child. Perhaps
this is the reason that childbearing and rearing come so early in our adult
life cycle. Growing families are God’s pressure cooker to mature many of us
quickly for the spiritual trials that he knows are ahead. Only the Spirit knows
what is best for the spiritual nurture of each individual, and he matures us by
means natural and supernatural that will be fully revealed to us only in glory.
Our cause for rejoicing now, however, is faith that our union with Christ makes
available to us the work of the Spirit that enables us to change.
Holiness by Grace, Crossway Books, p. 63-63,
As a general
rule, parents who follow biblical principles in bringing up their children will
see a positive effect on the character of their children. From a purely statistical point of view,
children who grow up in Christ-honoring homes are more likely to remain
faithful to Christ in adulthood than kids growing up in homes where the parents
dishonor the Lord. The truism of
Proverbs 22:6 does apply. We’re
certainly not to think that God’s sovereignty in salvation means the way we
raise our kids is immaterial. God often uses faithful parents as instruments in
the salvation of children.
John MacArthur
Successful Christian Parenting, 1998, p. 18.
I do not
doubt, that many children, will rise up in the day of judgment, and bless their
parents for good training, who never gave any signs of having profited by it
during their parents’' lives. Go forward
then in faith, and be sure that your labor will not totally be wasted (Pro.
22:6).
J.C. Ryle
The Duties of Parents.
Paul wrote in
1 Thessalonians 4:3 that “this is the will of God, your sanctification.” Parenting
is profoundly sanctifying. When we were first married, the new relationship
revealed rooms of selfishness in our lives – and within those rooms doors to other rooms, and in those rooms yet other
doors and closets. The revelation was the beginning of an ongoing, lifelong
housecleaning and the addition of children truly deepened the process. The
inconvenience of parenting – the self-giving, the prayer, the dependence upon
God, the growth – can be an experience of sanctification like no other… The
discipline of parenting can be the road to an enlarged soul and the path to
unimagined heights of spiritual development. That’s the way God planned it.
Kent and Barbara Hughes
Disciplines of a Godly Family, Crossway
Books, 2004, p. 17.
In His Word, [God] has given us a basic philosophy of child raising. In the Scriptures He has delineated for us the
goals, the plans, the strategy, the standards by which
we should raise our children. We do not need to shoot from the hip, we do not
need to fly by the seat of our pants; we do not need to lean to our own
understanding or the understanding of other fallible men in this matter. We
have the infallible Word of God to answer our questions, settle our disputes,
and be our guide. Conflicts, disagreements, differences of opinion can be
settled by couples who are willing to make the Word of God, not their own ideas
or feelings or opinions, their final authority in the matter of raising
children.
Wayne A. Mack
Strengthening Your Marriage, P&R
Publishing, 1977, p. 142. Used by
Permission.