LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, June 18, 2020

As a father and grandfather, I think the following passage of inspired Scripture from the writings of King Solomon challenges me more than any other.

Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

There are two reasons this hits me so hard:

1. I am responsible to teach and model to my children the wisdom of God:
   1. My words must be the words of God, and I must consistently model that they are my most valued treasure.
   2. I must keep my ears attentive to wisdom and seek understanding of God’s purpose for my life.
   3. My first option for finding answers to life is to call out to God.
   4. I must model the fear of the Lord and that my life is governed by the knowledge of God.

That’s a tall order. It can be overwhelming. But what makes it even harder is the second reason:

2. My children are responsible for their own decisions.
   1. Solomon uses the word “if” three times. Compliance to our teaching cannot be coerced. Each child has the individual right to listen or not, and each child is individually responsible to God for whether or not they obeyed.

What makes this so hard is that as parents we tend to get some personal value by pointing to how well our children turn out. We must learn the lesson that the only approval we need is from God when He sees us representing His Son to our children. Our value is not found in the product; that’s the child’s choice. The approval of God is found in the faithful process of proclaiming Jesus and trusting Him with the lives of our children.

Pastor John