By Xiyu
When it comes to education of children, every parent hopes that his or her child can have a true life and become outstanding personages. However, as a Christian, how should we educate our children so that they can walk on the true path of human life? Let’s seek to enter the truth concerning this problem together.
1. Guiding Children to Believe in and Worship God Is a Responsibility That Parents Cannot Shirk.
We Christians all believe that God exists, that He created this world, and that all things survive under His sovereignty. The future and fate of everyone is also controlled by God and people can’t have the final say. As a believer in God, how should we make a choice between guiding our children to believe in God and worship God and allowing them to pursue the reputation, status and future in the world? Our choice not only reveals what path we are taking in our belief in God, but relates to the future and fate of our children. It being already the last days now, the dark and old age will soon end, and only those who truly believe in God and pursue the truth will survive. We should see this clearly. In our belief in God, if we still expect our children to become an outstanding personage rather than focus on bringing them before God, then can this be after God’s will? If we do so, is it love or are we harming them?
God’s words say: “Are you aware of the burden you shoulder, your commission, and your responsibility? … Have you ever thought how grieved and anxious God’s heart is? How can He bear to see the innocent mankind He created with His own hands suffering such torment? After all, mankind are the unfortunates that have been poisoned. Though they have survived to this day, who would have thought that they have long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you are one of the victims? Out of your love for God, are you not willing to strive to save those who have survived?”
From God’s words, we can see His will. We have come before God and thus seen clearly the corruption and evil of this world. But there are still countless people struggling in the darkness, and our children are no exception. Seduced and deluded by evil trends of the world, they spend all their time in cyber cafes, fall in love too early in life, show off, and so on. They are living in the deception and corruption of Satan, yet are completely unaware. Therefore, we have the responsibility to bear witness to God’s work to let them know God is the Ruler of the heavens and earth and all things, the meaning of God creating all things and mankind, how Satan corrupts mankind and how God saves man. This way, they will come to know what positive things are and what negative things are so that they can discern evil worldly trends and develop a correct direction for their life.
We can recall when Noah built the ark. He not only accepted God’s calling and commission to build it according to His will, but led his children to do it with him, striving to bring them before God. At last, Noah’s family of eight entered the ark, and survived after the flood. Noah fulfilled a father’s duty. As a Christian that truly believes in God, we should follow Noah’s example and bring our children before God. If we take the path of believing in God but let them take Satan’s path and follow the evil trends of the world, we will ruin their opportunity of believing in God and receiving His salvation, and at last, we will have eternal regret because of failing to fulfill our responsibility.
2. Guide Our Children to Walk the Correct Path of Life With God’s Words and the Truth
Actually, many of parents want to guide their children to believe in God and worship God, and walk on the right path of life. But suffering from equipping themselves with too little truth, they cannot speak thoroughly about the meaning of belief in God and the truth that mankind was corrupted by Satan, which cannot allow their children to be utterly convinced. So, they cannot bring their children before God.
In the beginning, we believed in God and followed Him, for we were conquered by Him when we saw His word holds authority and power and cannot be expressed by anyone. Therefore, to educate our children to come before God, we should guide them to read more of God’s words and use the truth to touch their hearts. And we should let them be completely convinced by the fact that God does work to conquer and save mankind.
It is just like Peter, who followed the Lord Jesus. He heard the authority and power in the words of the Lord Jesus and felt those words could not be uttered by ordinary people and he saw His miracles could not be performed by man. So, he cast everything aside to follow the Lord Jesus without hesitation. Thus, we should read our children God’s words more and bear witness to His work instead of telling them only in words that belief in God is so good. Besides, we can also bear witness to God’s deeds with our personal experiences. In our life of believing in God, each of us has experienced His care and protection. Some were wonderfully protected by God in disasters and thus saw His almightiness and love for man; by the revelation and under the guidance of God’s word, some knew their corrupt essence and thus turned back from the wrong path and walked on the right path of believing in God; etc. All of these are the ways of educating and guiding our children to come before God.
3. Educate Children to Learn Some Practical Knowledge to Understand the Truth and Walk the Right Path of Life
Nowadays, it is the age that science and technology are developing rapidly. Everyone wants to have a foothold to live on in society through pursuing knowledge and parents expect their children to be successful and distinguish themselves and gain family prestige. But as believers in God, we know that it is not the true life to pursue knowledge or to rise above others, and that only attaining the truth is the most precious. It is recorded in the Bible: “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). “Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared to her” (Proverbs 3:13-15). The wisdom and understanding mentioned in the scriptures above undoubtedly mean that we believers in God come to know Him and attain His praise and blessings. What pleases God and is blessed by Him is learning some practical knowledge to read His word and understand the truth, dedicating a portion of energy to bear witness to God and spread His gospel, and following Christ to walk the proper path of life.
As a disciple of the Lord Jesus, Peter didn’t have profound cultural knowledge, nor did he pursue to raise above others. Instead, he pursued the truth, followed the way of the Lord and spent for the Lord throughout his life. He didn’t attain the worldly riches, but gained the heavenly glory because the Lord Jesus looked favorably upon him and He gave him the key to the heavenly kingdom. On the contrary, if we educate our children to raise above others, bring honor to our ancestors and blindly pursue knowledge to gain the fame and status in the world, then we are too foolish. God’s words say: “Only if one knows God and has the truth does he live in the light; and only when his view of the world and his view of life change does he change fundamentally. When he has a life goal and comports himself according to the truth; when he absolutely submits to God and lives by God’s word; when he feels assured and brightened deep in his soul; when his heart is free of darkness; and when he lives completely freely and unrestrained in God’s presence—only then does he live a true human life….”
We can see that only when we understand and gain the truth and comport ourselves according to the truth can we have the true life. No matter how high our status or how abundant our knowledge, it cannot bring the true life for us. When God ends this evil and corrupt world in the last days, money, fame and fortune, status and any other worldly things will turn into nothing in disasters. Thus, we Christians should see clearly even if our dream that our children become successful comes true, the final outcome is empty. We should educate our children to learn some practical knowledge so that they can walk the right life path of believing in God and pursuing the truth and gain God’s praise and blessings—this is the real and eternal glory.
Through fellowshiping about the three approaches to practicing above, I believe you all have some understanding and ways about educating our children to walk the right path of life. Think God for preparing the fellowship for us.
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