OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY - 19/06/2014 - PARENTING BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

PARENTING

MEMORISE

When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

Matthew 2:14

READ

1 Samuel 1:22-23

22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.

23 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

MESSAGE

Parenting is about raising children. There are several responsibilities and activities involved in it. These can be both interesting and challenging. It is one thing to be a father or a mother but it’s another thing to be a parent. While any normal human being can be a father or mother, parenting requires responsibility. Implicitly, an irresponsible father or mother is not qualified to be a parent. Good parenting denotes the ability to bring up children in the fear of God. This is not child’s play.

The first thing to note about good parenting is that it is an act of obedience to a biblical injunction. Proverbs 22:6 says:

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Are you a parent or planning to be one? You are required to train up your child in the right way to go. Parenting could be good, smooth, interesting, inspiring, fruitful and highly rewarding when it occurs within a family – a Christian home. This is a place where the husband, wife and children live together in love and peace, devoted to God and to each other. Conversely, parenting is bad, frustrating, destructive, unfruitful and punitive in an ungodly family. The nearest thing to hell on earth is the ungodly home, broken by sin and iniquity. It is a place where children are given to the forces of wickedness and are brought up with scarcely any training at all. Is your family a Christian Home or an ungodly one? Children are the heritage of the Lord and should be brought up in the fear of God. The key person in carrying out this responsibility is the father. Joseph in Matthew 2:14 demonstrated this by taking care of the young Jesus and his mother. Are you a father? It is your duty to care for every member of your family. Children learn by precepts and examples. They learn to either love God or dishonour Him from your disposition to God and to the things of God. They also learn from the way you treat their mother. Are you a father? It is your duty to love, honour and respect your wife. Let the children know that you respect their mother and hold her in high esteem. Stop scolding your wife. Appreciate your wife’s efforts in keeping the house, in caring for you and the children and for going through the vexing things that come along with the daily duties of home life. Reward your wife as much as you can. The most reliable partner in parenting is the mother. Are you a Christian mother? It is your duty to be submissive to your husband and his leadership role. You should respect and admire your husband, and be a good home keeper.

  

KEY POINT

For good parenting, both husband and wife should work hard to appreciate each other as they did in courtship. The spirit of courtship should continue throughout married life.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Leviticus 20:1-22:16;

Psalm 131-132