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Parenting and The Gospel

Originally written on April 16, 2006

Each morning during my prayer time I pray that the Lord will give Noah two things. First, I pray that God will give him the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ and secondly I pray that the Lord will provide for him a wife to love him for the rest of his life. A good wife is essential to understanding the importance of church- we are the bride of Christ. The issue of salvation, however, is more pressing and reverberates through my mind all the day.

There are at least two errors that I could make if am not careful and I try to keep myself aware of these constantly. First, there is the possibility that I (and the rest of the church as well) would forget that my son has inherited a sinful nature like the rest of mankind. He has and this is already evident. Therefore he is to be treated like every other child. Secondly, is the great possibility that I would try to force him to accept the message of the gospel. Ministers and parents alike fall into this trap often. So what is the biblical manner for handling the issue of salvation with your children? This is a most important question and there is no better time than Easter to think on these things. Here are a few of the resolutions that I have made for myself.

First, I will constantly recognize that Noah has a soul that will live forever and above all of his other needs salvation is the greatest. This must be pinnacle in his life. Secondly, I must make sure that he has every exposure to the message of the gospel. That is, I am not God and salvation is not up to me. Therefore, it is my responsibility to teach him the truths of Scripture, make sure that he is in church, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is always before him. Third and most importantly, is allowing the Spirit of God to woo his heart. Salvation that is forced is no salvation at all. God must do the work of salvation and I must realize that it is in His hands. Lastly, is to wait on the Lord. Certainly there will be expectations that a minister’s child would come to Christ very early and I pray that this is so. This prayer is for his sake and that he might be kept from the damaging effects of sin, not that I might be kept from embarrassment. The list is short and certainly could be expanded, but I hope this helps.

Let this Easter season be a time when we as parents renew our resolve to pray for our children and keep the gospel ever before them. This is what God requires of us and then we must trust Him to bring fruition to our labor.

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