Proverbs 22:6 ESV
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Raising and training a child within the context of this proverb means that it begins with the Bible. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training…” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the duty of the parents to prepare children to withstand the onslaught of the culture bent on teaching them secular values.

Clearly Scripture teaches that training children to know and obey God is the basis for pleasing Him and living victoriously in His grace. Knowing God and His truths begins with the child’s understanding of sin and his need for a Savior.

Even very young children understand that they are not perfect and can grasp at an early age the need for forgiveness. Loving parents model a loving God who not only forgives, but provides the perfect sacrifice for sin in Jesus Christ. Training up children in the way they should go means, first and foremost, directing them to the Savior.

Parents have been given the privilege of being stewards of their children’s lives for a very short time, but the teaching and training they provide is eternal. Many of us that are reading this devotion were brought up in Christianity and that is a part of the reason we hold on to our faith today. Some of us raised up our children in Christianity and while they may believe there is a God, they have wondered from the faith.

I believe those children that have wondered away from the faith will have to make a choice in the years to come because I believe the time is near where people will have to make a clear choice; follow the Lord Jesus Christ or reject Him. We have done our duty in the training, God is drawing them back, we have to pray and trust God.

Prayer:
Lord, you know how we raised our children in the faith, draw them back home to You.