“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Proverbs 22:6 NLT
Yesterday I talked about why I wrote these short devotionals and I said it was at first for my children. That brings me to my verse for today. This verse is often used as a promise that parents like to fall back on and in a way, it is but it means so much more To “train up” or “direct your children” goes in line with dedicating your child to the Lord and then spending your life teaching them the Word, (see Deut. 6:4-9). This is a God dependent shepherding of the hearts of our children as they grow. To direct them on the, “right path” Proverbs is full of contrast between the right way, the way of wisdom, God’s way and the wrong way, the way of the fool. Proverbs tells us that foolishness is bound up, or is to be found in the heart of a child; Proverbs 7:7, 22:15, so it makes good sense to train our children in the right path as the right path is not found in their natural inclination. So, although Proverbs 22:6 is not a statement of a hard and fast rule, it implies a promise that if the parents will make intentional training in the way that a child should go (the way of wisdom, or God’s way) this early shaping will have a permanent impact for good on the child’s life. Train your child, pray for your child and always remember in the end they are God’s child first only on loan to us as parents.
“Love the Lord with all of our heart and with all of your soul and with all of 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 at along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” Deuteronomy 6:5-9
Anchor In The Storm 