By
Thomas L. Bowen
Minister of Fellowship & Outreach
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is
old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 -KJV)
Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of
trouble. (Job 14:1-KJV)
Today is Children's Day! It is a day that I have come to
look forward to with great fondness and anticipation.
We have a responsibility to nurture and develop our
children, to prepare them spiritually for a life that is
sure to challenge them.
The author of Proverbs tells us that we should train up
a child in the way that he or she should go and when
that child becomes older, he or she "will not depart
from it" (Proverbs 22:6). Great wisdom flows from that
little piece of Scripture. Many generations of families
have raised their children with these words as their
guide. Many mothers and fathers have either brought or
sent their children to church with the hope that their
children would memorize enough Scripture, sing enough
songs and study enough Bible to guarantee their safe
passage into adulthood. Unfortunately, no such
guarantee can be offered. All of our lives are full of
trouble (Job 14:1).
Neither I nor anyone else can promise a God-fearing,
loving, tithing, Holy Ghost-filled parent that bringing
their child to church will keep them from prison, drug
abuse, teenage pregnancy or poverty. Similarly, I cannot
promise that a child raised in the church will become a
Rhodes Scholar, Supreme Court Justice, President of the
United States or a Nobel Prize winner. What I do know
is that if a child is given the "proper" religious
instruction; if that child is given a song or Scripture
to hide in his or her heart; if that child is told about
a God who delivered three Hebrew boys from a fiery
furnace; Daniel from the lion's den and gave favor to a
teenage mother named Mary, then if life takes an
unfortunate turn, they will be better off knowing about
the Lord than they would not knowing about a loving and
forgiving Savior. And if they are fortunate to ascend to
the upper levels of our society they will not look down
on others, but will have to give as their testimony, "if
it had not been for the Lord on my side, tell me where
would I be."
Let us on this Children's Day pledge to commit ourselves
and our resources to doing all that we can to train up
our children in the way that he or she should go and
then let us pray that their little feet will not stray
too far from the course.
Happy Children's Day!
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Readings for Sunday, June 17, 2007:
1 Kings 21:1-21a; Psalm 5:1-8; Galatians 2:15-21;
Luke 7:36-8:3
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