The Fear for our Children
Scripture Matthew 21:14-16
Last week we considered "Facing down the fear of threats to our children". We talked about their relationship to us as parents and as a church family. I gave a set of principles to guide us so that we might relate in a healthy way within the family structure. Let us continue the same theme and look at our families from the viewpoint of our children's relationship with God and those around them.
Their Relationship with God.
Our children need to know that their heavenly Father loves them more than anything else. We can help our children to recognize this by giving them spiritual boundaries. Solomon reminds us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." This means that we must be vibrating on the right frequency with God. If we are, we will realize that we are accountable to God for our behaviour. "For we will all stand before God's judgement seat. It is written: As surely as I live, says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' So then, each of us will give an account of himself / herself to God." (Rom. 14: 10-12; 2 Cor. 5: 10,11)
Without this sense of accountability there can be no physical or moral responsibility. Once we experience reverence for God's presence and understand we are ultimately accountable to Him, we will also have a reverence for life that will help us order wise priorities.The Bible says, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law." (Prov. 29:18)
The KJ translates, Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.It seems like a very different concept between the two translations. However, there is no contradiction. If we don't have a vision of God's revelation, we tend to cast off all restraint. "Where there is no vision of God the people run wild."
"The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions." The result was that Eli's two sons ran wild and desecrated the Lord's offerings and practiced immoral acts at the doors of the Tabernacle. (1 Sam 3:1)
The prophet Amos says, "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. (Amos 8:11,12)
When this happens the forces of evil will have unrestrained influence in the world. Do you respect the scriptures? We must set healthy boundaries using the eternal Word of God.Teach your children early to respect and cherish God's Word. When children grow through the years in their understanding of God and their accountability to Him they will be less likely to yield to destructive temptations. The Bible is replete with instructions in this area.
Moses was instructing the new generation before entering into the Promised Land when he said, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Dt. 6:5-9)
Notice the key words in this scripture. Love the Lord. This is a choice we must make. Commandments are to be upon your hearts, Impress, Talk, Tie and bind them (Carry them with you,) Write. This supports the idea of having scriptural pictures and plaques on your walls. In other words, the Scriptures of both Old and New Testament must be prominent in our homes. However, this is not what Americans want.
Wilbur Reese writes with biting sarcasm: "I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth. I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I'd like to buy $3 worth of God, please." Then Matthew Reese asks, "How much of God do you want?" It's either all of Him or none of Him. We seem to want a little of God, a little of this world system, a little lust, a little rebellion against the Word. We want a little of both worlds. The Lord tells us that we must love Him with all our hearts and all our strength. Jesus said, you cannot serve the world and God too. It must be total commitment to Christ.
Jesus said something similar. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
(John 14:21)
There is a difference between having the commandments and obeying them. Suppose you are going out for the evening and you do you instruct your older children to clean the kitchen, tidy and pick up around the house. You come home and find it all completed. The house looks clean and neat. They have received the commandments from you and obeyed them because you told them to do it.
Now, suppose on another occasion you leave the house and don't give any commands. When you come home everything is done without any word from you. This is what it means to obey the commandments because we love him. To please him without being commanded is to relate to Him out of love. This is the one to whom God will reveal Himself.
Their Relationship to Others.
Praying for other people. Show your children the importance of praying for other people. When you pray with your children, pray for neighbours, relatives, even enemies like a troublesome neighbour. Pray for them by name. Develop a genuine concern and compassion for the well being of loved ones and friends. If we do this consistently our children will encourage them to pray and have compassion for the difficult people in their lives. Praying in this way puts things into perspective. Relationships are most healthy when we seek God's blessing through prayer.
Read the scriptures to your children. It is shocking to find how little our children know about the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament.
So, what can we do? Take time to read the scriptures with your children, especially those dealing with people in their healthy relationships. Read about David and Jonathan, Paul and Timothy Jesus and His disciples. Read also about destructive relationships. Joseph and his brothers. Samson and Delilah Saul's actions toward Jonathan and David. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15)
This will require some preparation on your part. Begin your child's spiritual education in the home early.Applications
Facing down the fear of threats to our children is a daily challenge we can meet with confidence in Jesus Christ. Let us continually apply the first two disciplines of prayer and memorizing of scripture. They will help us to put our circumstances into God's hands.
Don't think it strange when we have done everything right and fear still grips our hearts. God's word tells us that the devil is our enemy, a roaring lion prowling about seeking whom he may devour. He would like to devour us with fear.
David encourages us in Psalm 37. "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand."