Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Psalm 58 and Proverbs 22:1-16

“Direct your children onto the right path,
    and when they are older, they will not leave it.” (v.6)

Many of us will remember this Proverb better in its older wording: “Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

What does it mean to “direct your child onto the right path”, or to “train up a child in the way he or she should go”? A more literal translation of the “right path” or “the way he or she should go” is actually “Train up a child in his/her way.” The Proverb describes the sacred task of parenting as first studying a child to discern his or her individual strengths and weaknesses, and then parenting in a way that takes those into account. It issues a call to parents to honour God’s sacred design for their child’s individuality and life-vocation as best they can when parenting them, and to educate and help the child to develop in a way that releases them to thrive within their God-given purpose.

As disciples of Jesus, this sacred task relates to our children and later grandchildren, but also to the children in our Church Family. The African Proverb says that it takes a village to raise a child, and as Christians we understand that it takes a Church Family to raise a child to follow Jesus. As those who have been given the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, let us be open to the Spirit’s leading and empowering as we undertake the sacred calling of discipling others into the fulness of their created individuality.

For those of us with “adult children”, let us receive God’s forgiveness and freedom from guilt for any past failures, and trust that God can take our parenting efforts (whether they were excellent or faltering) and use them to further His perfect purposes in their lives.

Heavenly Father, thank You for parenting me so well. Please use me to be a source of Your parenting grace to my own children, and to the children of my local church. Use me for their good and Your glory I pray. Amen.