“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Here is a hard reality. This is a strong principal not a guarantee. Want evidence? Think of the young men and women who you know that came from Godly homes and parents but went astray, way astray, and stayed there. It breaks my heart. The powerful truth of this verse is that the odds are very much in the favor of those clinging to it and it’s broader principal than for those who don’t. I recently had a conversation that emphasized the truth in this passage. It was with a parent struggling with a rebellious teenage daughter. An awful lot of us can relate to the description “rebellious teen”. Some of us were one. In the midst of their struggle I reminded them that the greatest advice I’ve learned over the decades about successful parenting was to just not give up. It is easy to reach a place where it seems nothing we do is working, it even seems to be making matters worse. My counsel was just don’t quit. I’ve seen parents quit. It’s heartbreaking. Eventually the teen grows up and the reality of the love and commitment of the parents who didn’t quit verses those who did was felt and impactful deep in the child’s core. Remember you were a rebellious child of God yet He never gave up on you. Continue to speak truth, show love with proper discipline and leave the inner heart work to the only one who can take your love and connect it with His to change a life, God. Today be that person who doesn’t quit with every life you are entrusted. #BeTheEdge
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Jesus
