Being a parent is the most rewarding job that exists.  As a mother, the first time I looked into my babies’ eyes I fell deeply in love.  Here were these little lives that grew on the inside of me.  A gift from God that encompassed the best parts of William and myself.  Only a parent can understand the feeling you get when you bring a child into this world or adopt a child that God has given to you.  You fall instantly in love and it’s wonderful.  Soon after these beautiful emotions, a flood of thoughts enter in as you now begin to fully realize the vast responsibility that lies ahead.  A lifetime of concern.  As parents, we want the greatest life for our children.  As followers of the Lord, we long to see our children seek Him with their whole hearts.

In the world we live in today we hear bad stories of people’s lives going off track.  Even in the church you hear sad stories from those around you of how their children have strayed away from their faith in Jesus Christ only to trade it for the world and its sinful ways.  This can leave parents worried about their children, which leads to a knee jerk reaction to shelter them from all that would even reflect a threat.

I want to assure you today that you do not have to fear.  God removed the threat from their lives with His promise.  “Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) The scripture tells us that if we train our children to know the Lord and follow his wisdom, they will not depart from it.  To follow His wisdom means they are seeking the Lord with their whole hearts.  (Jeremiah 29:13)

In Luke, we see this promise fulfilled in the life of Mary and Joseph.  You can imagine the amount of pressure these two were under as they brought Jesus into this world.  Here they were, given the huge responsibility of raising the Son of God!  So, what did they do.  The scriptures give us insight into what they did—“When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.” (Luke 2:39) Here we see that Jesus’ parents followed the law of the Lord.  In this passage, they took Jesus to the temple to be dedicated as He was the first born of their offspring and as required by law, He was to be dedicated to the Lord.  The next verse shows us the results of their obedience—“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.” (40)  This is so exciting to me!  Because of their obedience, Jesus grew strong, wise and God’s grace was on Him.  That means God was with Him.  The presence of the Almighty is His grace!!  It gets better!  Remember Proverbs 22:6-.  “Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”   The fulfillment of this verse is seen in Jesus just a little further into Luke 2:51. This is the story of when Jesus’s family traveled to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.  We see here that Mary and Joseph were still following in obedience to the directives of the Lord.  The entire family was honoring the Lord at the Passover.  Jesus, at the age of 12 years, was in the temple listening and speaking with the rabbis.  In the text, we see that Jesus’ parents became worried because they could not find their son.  As parents, we can understand how scary it must have been for them.  When they finally found Jesus, they were upset and asked, “Son why have you treated us like this?” (49)   Even at age 12, Jesus knew He must be in obedience to His Heavenly Father.  This is what His parents had taught Him to do.  But in verse 51 we see Jesus’ actions in response—“Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.”  Jesus honored His mother and earthly father and went home with them as they had asked.  The result of His obedience is found in the following verse—“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

So powerful!  The parents obeyed God when Jesus was a baby and He grew in strength and was blessed.  Now Jesus is 12 years old…. under Jewish law He is now required to observe the Jewish commandments.  Mary and Joseph trained Jesus to follow the Lord with all His heart.  To obey His leading and to live righteously.  Now Jesus was walking in the same obedience to the Lord as His parents.

The promise is as sure to you as it was to Mary and Joseph!

As parents, we must realize the Holy Spirit is helping us to train up our children.  He is faithful to fulfill His promise to you and your babies.  Trust Him!  Seek His wisdom and teach your children to honor the Lord and to listen to His voice.  Your life of obedience to God will teach your children to do the same.  You have often heard it said that actions speak louder than Words.  Allow your actions to prove what you say to your children.   Show them how integrity, loyalty and honesty will promote them.  You can be sure they will grow to fulfill the plans that God has in store for them.  Right down to the last detail! (Psalm 37:23) NLT

As always, William and I love you.  We are praying for you and your children. Remember, the Holy Spirit is helping you!