“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him”
NIV Psalm 127:3
In recent times, quite a few disciples have been so rewarded. In October 2018 couples JeVais and Nicole Lord, as well as, Rondell and Candice Frank welcomed babies Amora and Levi, respectively, into their midst. Let’s congratulate these new parents and warmly welcome their bundles of joy. Indeed, having a child is a reward, and one that comes with great responsibility for us, parents.
This charge is more than providing shelter, food and a sound education. It requires more than providing care. It necessitates that as parents we raise our children in the ‘right way’.
But consider being presented with a new task. There is specific knowledge, skill, and attitude required for the work to be performed competently. In the same way, as new parents, there are competencies to be learned. Fortunately, parenting skills can be gained in a variety of ways. Assistance from experienced parents, parenting classes and learning from experience, basically on-the-job learning, are all ways to achieve competence. All of these methods equip parents to get things done. Notably, developing competency as a disciple in God’s Kingdom is quite similar. Think about it, it’s no different. As disciples, to perform competently we need information or rather the standard—Gods’ words.
Then there is the outcome or goal. It is very important as it frames our Mission. And, ultimately this comes from God, ‘for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,’ (New International Version, Luke 19:10) Similarly, as parents we have a goal, and it is to take care of our offspring. But, it isn’t as simple as ‘taking care’ of our children, for God’s word states, ‘start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it, (New International Version, Proverbs 22:6).
Additionally, we ought to know the steps needed to achieve the goal. In parenting, guided by our goal of training our children in the way of the Lord, our most important step is ‘…moving away from self-comfort and live a life of sacrifice’ for our children as was stated by Bevon Pope. Whether you’re a new parent or a seasoned one, renouncing self-comfort and being self-sacrificing are challenging concepts. But, with every challenge comes a great reward for those who triumph.
So as our new parents join the ranks of those who have been treading parenting paths, we wish you God’s blessing and guidance pray that you persevere in bringing your children up, “in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (New International Version, Ephesians 6:4).