Parents as Primary Faith Trainers

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. Psalms 78:2-4

The primary responsibility and authority for training a child clearly rests with the parents.  It is an awesome task but it is also an awesome opportunity.  Parents, there are times you have to remind yourself that this is an awesome opportunity.  It’s real easy to remember it is an awesome task.  Reminders of that come every day.  But the Lord wants you to also remember what a precious gift they are from Him as well.  But the responsibility is not the parent’s alone.  Parenting is to be done in the context of a community of believers.

As a spiritual community we want to be a support to the parents in their training and nurturing of their kids.  We want single parents to find a place here where their kids can see wholesome, caring role models.  

Like Paul we want to invest into their lives as well. Paul laid his hands on Timothy and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit imparted something of what he had received from the Lord. And we know that Timothy was passing it on to many other people.

Later on in this epistle Paul will say to Timothy But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  2 Timothy 3:14-15

Passing it on

There is powerful insight as to how the faith of Eunice was passed on to her son, Timothy. “And how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures.”

We can follow her example.  We don’t need to come up with some new spiritual reality to get our kids through these perilous times.  The same God who brought Noah through the flood and Israel through the Red Sea and Daniel through the lion’s den can bring our kids through whatever they may face. The Old Time Religion really is good enough for me and you and our kids.
I don’t mean old methods and old ways of communicating.  But the substance, the reality, the basics will never change and we must never try to change them.

·         People still need to know their Bibles.

·         People still need to know how to pray and worship.

·         People still need to know how to love their enemies and forgive others. The essentials of what our fathers and our mothers told us have not changed and must be passed on.

Four scholars were arguing over Bible translations. One said he preferred the King James Version because of its beauty, eloquent old English. Another said he preferred the American Standard Bible for its literalism, the way it moves the reader from passage to passage with confident feelings of accuracy from the original text. A third man preferred Moffatt because of its quaint, penetrating use of words, the turn of a phrase that captures the attention of the reader. After giving the issue further thought, the fourth scholar admitted, ’I have personally preferred my mother’s translation.’ When the other scholars chuckled, he responded, ’Yes, she translated it. She translated each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing translation I ever saw.

Our kids need the word of God. But they need it lived out before them. They need it applied to daily events. They need to learn its principles. But they need to also learn how to apply its principles.

Scripture to Claim:
For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.  2Timothy 2:10  .