Parents have a very grave God given responsibility to properly train their children in spiritual matters. Ephesians 6:4 reads, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Fathers are specified in this passage, but mothers are certainly not excluded. Though the father takes the lead in fulfilling this responsibility he cannot do so without the help and cooperation of the mother. Mothers often have a greater impact upon their children in their formative years. They naturally spend more time with their children and thus exert much influence upon them. Both fathers and mothers work together to train their children and bring them up in the nurture of the Lord.

Sadly, many parents are simply not fulfilling their responsibility to provide for the spiritual needs of their children. They feed, clothe, and give their children shelter, but fail miserably in supplying the most important aspect of their children’s lives which is making provisions for the salvation of their souls. Dear parents, are you teaching your children about the God of the Bible? Are you instilling in them a knowledge of His divine will? Do you take (not drop off) your children to Bible class and worship? Do they see the importance of loving and serving God in your life? Are you setting the example of what it means to be a faithful Christian? If they do not see Christ living in you, they will not see the importance of Christ living in them (Galatians 2:20).

The Bible tells parents, to, “Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). This implies that parents should begin training their children as soon as they can learn. It also tells us that the training parents give their children may have a life-long impact upon them. Indeed, if we bring our children up in the nurture and training of the Lord, it has the potential of impacting generations to come. Never think that the spiritual training you give to your child will not impact your grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and on down the line.

Bringing up one’s children in the nurture and training of the Lord requires love for God, love for one’s children, proper discipline, setting boundaries, teaching the Bible in the home, and setting a godly example. Dear parent, are you fulfilling this grave responsibility to bring up your children in the nurture and training of the Lord?

Visit with us at the Green Plain church of Christ, 3980 Murray Paris Road, Hazel. Sunday services are at 10 and 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. with Bible study each Wednesday at 7 p.m. Visit us online at greenplainchurchofchrist.org or contact us via email at greenplaincoc@gmail.com or call 270-978-7569.

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