By Bryan McAlister
Creating a
heritage for our children is essential. As parents, many are working toward
the future with the welfare of our children in mind.
It is a noble act to make provision for one’s family. In
fact, for those who fail to provide for their families, they
are rebuked sharply by
the word of God;
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of
his household, he has
denied the faith
and is worse than an unbeliever” (I Timothy 5:8). The word provide
as used by Paul in this
passage, means
to “take thought beforehand.” There are more things in this world
that our families, that our children need, beyond the
physical things of life. Our children, to truly be blessed by
what we give them, need
to know how to
obey the Lord.
Solomon learned
many lessons about obedience to God through the “school of hard
knocks.” He knew what it was like to forsake the Lord and
turn away from obediently following him (I
Kings 11:4). Solomon’s
father had
failed in his relationships with his sons in the past, but with Solomon, he tried
to instruct him and lead him in a better way (II Samuel
18:33; I Kings 2:2-3). Solomon no
doubt had carried the burden of guilt and regret, and to his son, he
offered urgent words of
warning, “My
son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands”
(Proverbs 3:1). As parents, as fathers, we should be storing
up a heritage and an inheritance in our families and
in the lives of our children, what it means to obey
the Lord.
We can truly be
distracted through looking for and seeking out problems in the
Lord’s church. It can be a drain on our hearts emotionally
and spiritually if all we know about the church and the
brotherhood world over
are problems,
controversies, and conflicts among the brethren. Letting this drive our
purpose and perception
of the church
can be dangerous. However, denying that there are problems
or those who would want to change the church is equally
dangerous (Acts 20:28). Responsibility to the
Lord, His blood bought
church, and His
truth, dictate we purpose our steps to follow only His (I Peter
2:22-23). No small part of that responsibility means that
we teach our children
about the
Savior’s sacrifice for the church, His purpose for the church, and His
identity of the church.
Will our children know how to
teach others of the impact of sin and the separation
it creates between man and God? Will our children
learn the way out of sin is not through a recited
prayer or mere verbal
request for
Jesus to enter our lives? Will our children teach others that
salvation is found through obedient faith, including
belief, repentance, confession, and water baptism?
Will our children worship God in spirit and truth,
and understanding, free from any intervention of
man? Solomon provides the answer. I hope you
know, if we keep God’s law in our hearts as
parents, and instruct our children, lovingly,
consistently, and conscientiously, our children can anticipate,
“length of days and long life and peace” (Proverbs 3:2).
- Bryan McAlister preaches for the Centerville Church of
Christ, in Centerville, TN. He may be contacted
through the congregation's website:
http://www.centervillechurchofchrist.org
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