I was reading this morning of Paul’s passionate desire for the new believers in Thessalonica. He said to them: “You know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. We PLEADED with you, ENCOURAGED you, and URGED you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 NLT).
How does God want fathers (and I believe that includes the mothers) to treat their children? He doesn’t want them to take their parenting casually or complacently. No, it is full on and full time—ardently, diligently, and passionately pleading and urging your children to walk worthy of the Lord.
This is not only feeding and clothing our children. This is not sending them off to be educated by a liberal and socialist agenda that seeks to destroy our children and turn them away from their faith, this not living our own lives and hoping our children will make it.
This is full on intentional parenting! This is taking time every morning and evening to read God’s Word and pray with your children. This is diligently teaching them God’s word and His ways to your children throughout the day, on the road, when getting up and going to bed (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
We are living in an unprecedented hour when only six percent of Christians have a biblical worldview! This is the falling away of the church. And why? It comes back to the family. It comes back to the fathers and the mothers. We are the ones who are responsible to imbed God’s truths into the hearts and mouths of our children (Isaiah 59:21).
It’s time to wake up. It’s time to rise to a new level of parenting. We cannot take our children to church and hope for the best. We must night and day penetrate God’s laws into their hearts. Encouraging. Pleading. Imploring. Urging, Charging. And praying!
“Dear God and Father, we pray for a new spirit of parenting to arise in this land. Draw fathers and mothers back to their families. Give them a vision to passionately urge their children to prepare for the eternal world. Amen.”
This is the only thing that matters. We have been wondrously called into God’s kingdom. But also to glory! Nothing else is as important in this world than preparing ourselves for the glory that awaits us. Give your children a vision of the glory that awaits them if they will learn to live worthy of God in this world.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell