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Musings on Faith #70 Go Ye Therefore | |
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I’ve been thinking over several topics for this week’s Musing on Faith, but this morning, while I was driving to work, the Lord gave me this one out of the clear blue. As Christ was about to ascend to His Father, God, He told His disciples "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15-16, KJV). And, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20, KJV). We all know this is Christ’s Great Commandment for us to spread the gospel throughout the world. But what the Lord spoke to me this morning is that this sharing and teaching begins at home, with our own children and grandchildren. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6, KJV). How well these verses are known, and how often recited. But have you ever considered Matthew 28:18-20 and Proverbs 22:6 in the same stream of consciousness? I haven’t, until this morning. When we raise a child up in the way he or she should travel |
(Continued) through this life here on earth, they may stray from it, but we have laid the foundation stones upon which they can rebuild their faith and commitment to God once their prodigal period has passed. Furthermore, when they return to the Foundation that was laid for them by their parents, Sunday School teachers, godly elders, and loving pastors, they will, in turn, commence their own carrying out of the Great Commission in their own homes, with the teaching of their children concerning the love of God, and His perfect will for our lives, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you", all of which, for us, is contained within the Scriptures, the Holy Bible. And how do we teach them? Primarily by the example we set, by living our daily lives as Christ would have us do, but also by reading the Bible to them, helping them to memorize important Scripture passages, and teaching them to pray - to talk to God, one on one. Children raised in this way have a pure and undefiled understanding of God that many adults can only envy, and thus trained and taught, can, and do, talk to our Holy Father in the most natural and unaffected way. And when they are old, they will not depart from it! Train up your children in the way that they should go. Yours in Christ, Tom Woodard |
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