Raising children is not a duty which can be put on autopilot. This is especially true in a Christian community like ours. While there’s a great deal of likemindedness and similar standards, it is your calling as moms and dads to remain vigilant in the two-fold calling of training up your children in the way they should go and in driving out the folly that is bound up in their heart.
Parenting is like pouring a concrete slab for a new building. Without forms, you’ll end up with a useless and hardened blob. Think of the Word and the Body of Christ as the forms which give shape and boundary to the foundation you’re pouring with each child you are raising. But the forms will do no good if you do not pour the concrete of faithful nurture and instruction of your children.
Many Christian parents assume that someone else will eventually pour the concrete of godly character into the forms. Then, as their children enter adulthood, parents are jarred to find that only a few uneven patches of gravel are in place.
So then, parents, be vigilant. Don’t assume that dropping your kids off for a playdate with another Christian family will have no potential pitfalls for your kids. Don’t assume that the neighbor kids will be wholesome influences on your kids. Don’t assume that others have the same entertainment standards you have. Even amongst your own children, don’t assume there are no follies which they can fall into. Coach them up before various life-events, and then review the game film. Always let them know that they can talk with you about anything that happens.
This then is the summons for parents. Vigilance is required, not paranoia. Responsibility is required, not communalism. Loving discipline is required, not absentminded indifference.
Prayer of Confession
Father God,
Our culture has despised children and sought to corrupt them through all variety of evils. You call godly parents to raise up their children in the covenant mercies which You promise to us, and we must not be presumptuous about these promises. If we have lacked vigilance in our own lives or in the lives of those under our care, forgive us, and grant us clear eyes of discernment to watch for evils that may arise. If we have been lazy in our parenting, grant us strength to persevere. If our hearts have been turned away from our children, turn our hearts back toward them. May we as the body of Christ, labor together, by Your Spirit, to raise these covenant children to trust in You with evangelical faith.
In Jesus name,
Amen
A Final Reminder
For parents in particular, bear in mind that the goal of your parenting is that your children would be in fellowship with God and with God’s people. This is why Christ came. He came to reestablish fellowship between God and man, and by this fellowship with God true fellowship with the saints of God is possible.
