by Today is Father’s Day. As we look back to our parenting days, through hindsight, we clearly see how our ways impacted our children’s ways ─ they instinctively became who we were as their sin nature capitalized more on our sin nature than on our redeemed man. As father’s who have matured out of our old ways and closer into the image Christ, we turn to trust the purity God’s Word over our old ways to guide them through a labyrinth of sin and destruction.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Proverbs 22:6 is popular amongst Christian parents. In this verse, God seems to promise that if we as fathers do what we should, then our children will not depart from our training ─ they will never become a prodigal but grow into adulthood with every step pointed towards the Lord’s way. When this is not the case or it’s delayed in our expectations, we feel as though we failed as a parent.
Proverbs 22:6 tells us that all we can do is point them in the righteous way. The definition, of the word “train” says this exact thing, it means “to dedicate.” Exactly what Hannah did with Samuel, and where we get our baby dedication services. We cannot forget, only the Spirit of God can lead, convict and convert. Though Hannah pointed Samuel in the righteous way, Samuel had to make his right choices and follow the Spirit’s leading into God’s way.
Proverbs 22:6 encourages us that the righteous ways we reared them in will never depart from their heart. It is God’s Word, guided by His Spirit, that does a supernatural work that we cannot do ─ guiding our children into all truth (John 16:13). When they are confronted with the ways of godliness either by the Spirit’s conviction, a testimony of a righteous friend or the preached Word, they have the means in Christ to see beyond our sin nature and be guided towards a righteous path.
Proverbs 22:6 encourages us that however minimal or extraordinary we trained our children in the righteous way, the Spirit of God will use every bit of it in such a way that our children will not be able to depart from His convicting power.
