By Sade Akanni
(Living seed Vol. 7 No. 3 Nov. 2000)
The message on Authority and Submission in the home will not be complete without looking into that between parents and their children. Many sweet parent-child relationships grow sour or bitter basically for lack of proper understanding of Biblical principles governing such relationships. Many parents undergo a lot of heartaches while some children grow embittered and wayward for this same reason. For any parent-child relationship to be peaceful, successful and fulfill God’s purpose; there are clear instructions in scriptures for us to follow. The authority of parents over their children is God given and functional. There is a role that parents are meant to fulfill in the lives of their children if such children will develop properly and go through life successfully. There is a void, a need, an invisible incapability created by God in the lives of their children so that parents can have a part to play in their lives, making their authority relevant. Even orphans and abandoned babies need at least foster-parents in order to survive properly. The need of children for their parents is more intense while the children are young. So also is the authority of parents over them. But as a child grows, that need reduces and so also is the authority. But as long as your parents are alive their authority over you still stands even though limited. Since the Bible says
children, obey your parents…(Eph.6:1) it means that as long as you are your parents’ child, and as long as they are still alive as your parents, their authority stands and you must obey and honour them and take care of them even as they grow old. This is our Christian duty towards them and we must not fail to perform it.
A time comes in the life of a child if she is a girl, when she grows matured and gets married. At that point, the authority of the parents on the woman is transferred to her husband (Num. 30: 3-15) . The parents must be ready to let go and only render counsel (not commands) when needed. For a male child, maturity also reduces his parents’ authority over him and he becomes directly accountable to God (Num 30:1-20). Parental care then reduces to counsels and not commands, especially after he gets married. Any attempt to change this divine arrangement and enforce personal opinion and belief only results in serious conflicts and many sorrows. May God grant you understanding in Jesus name.
CHILDREN, OBEY YOUR PARENTS… Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour your father and mother which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with you and you may live long on earth.” Eph. 6; 1-3 (NKJV)
“Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do”. (vs1 GNB)
“Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do because God has placed them in authority over you.”(Vs.1 LB)
When the Bible talks about children in these scriptures, it is not just talking about babies and small children. In the scriptures, the Lord God instructs Israelite who are twenty years and above to bring an offering to the Lord. (Ex 30:14). God regards such people to be responsible enough to give something to him. In Num. 1:3, every male child from twenty years and above must be numbered among those who are able to go to war. Even when the children of Israel sinned and complained in unbelief, not willing to cross the Jordan to the Promised Land because of the giants, God punished only those who were from twenty years and above. Such people all died in the wilderness (Num 14:20-29). Only Joshua, Caleb and the children under twenty years were spared. Biblically speaking, whenever any child enters the age of twenty, he has entered the age of accountability. You can safely enter into God’s service at that age especially if you are ‘able’ (Num 1:3). Jesus entered into God’s call at the age of thirty. But if you are not yet able, because of physical disability or because you are still being trained by your parents and you are not yet married (especially girls) even though you are twenty and above, you may still be regarded as a child. (Num 30.3-5). But if you are above twenty and you are able, not being dependent on your parents for your daily needs, able to fight the battles of the Lord and serve God, even if you are not yet married, you are accountable to God.
The first instruction in the parent-child relationship goes to the children. In His determinate counsel, God has placed children under the authority of their parents; as people who brought forth children into the world, God ordained that parents should be obeyed and honoured by their children. Whether your parents are Christians or not, this is God’s commandment. Looking at that scripture from the KJV, it would seem as if it is talking about Christian parents only. But other versions of the Bible make it clearer. Obeying your parents is the right thing to do as Christian children who are in the Lord. It is your Christian duty to obey, honour and respect your parents. The home is the first testing ground for the believer’s faith. Saying you are a Christian is not enough. Singing about your new birth experience, is not enough. If truly you are born again, delivered from sin and Satan you must bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, fruits to prove that you have turned from your sins. Let him that stole steal no more; let him that has been lazy turn from his laziness and put on strength for hard work. Let him that is a liar stop lying and begin to speak the truth. Faith without works is dead (Jas. 2:22-26), for by works faith is made perfect. It is of no use saying you are a child of GOD when your new-found faith only makes you to become lazy at home. Instead of helping mummy or daddy at home, covering up laziness with an excuse of attending Bible study sessions or prayer meeting is not right. When Christ comes into any life, He makes such a life better and puts salt into the person’s life to make him sweet. Participating in prayer meetings, Bible studies and other church or fellowship activities is good, but you need to prove your repentance first at home. You need to shine your light first at home before going outside. Your parents need to see the change, the fruits of repentance first in your life so that they may glorify your Father in heaven on your behalf. Then it will not be difficult for them to release you to serve the Lord who saved you and changed your life. In fact, your godly life may be powerful enough to convict, convert and turn them to the Lord. But When you have not yet proved obedient at home and you try to insist on your parents to allow you to obey the Lord and Serve Him outside, you bring unnecessary persecution upon yourself. Many persecutions that young people undergo under their parents today are caused by their own foolishness. Parents are also human beings and they would normally want to ask you and understand what is happening to you. They deserve an answer from you not only by preaching to them but by your good behaviour and the great change that has taken place in your life. Take time to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. They will see your good works and glorify God on your behalf. Children, obey your parents for this is the right thing to do. Disobeying them for whatever reason either because they are unbelievers or because it is not convenient for you, is wrong even in the sight of God. It is your Christian duty to obey them because God has placed them in authority over you. Why must you be obedient to your parents?
1. God has given them authority over you
The authority and control of a child’s life has been divinely placed in the hands of his parents. It is God-given and you cannot reverse it. You cannot say because your own parents are unbelievers, they have no authority over you. They do. A child left to himself will grow wild and out of control. Whether they are Christians or not your parents will give an account of their stewardship over your life to God. Children are the heritage of the Lord but parents are God’s stewards over the lives of their children. They are delegated by God to watch over your life. In Num.30: 3-5 the Bible says:
‘If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth, and her father hear her vow and bond where with she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace with her; then all her vows shall stand and every bond wherewith She hat bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, any of her vows or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall not stand; and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.”
Such is the authority that God has placed on fathers for their children. As you are still a youth, not yet married but still under their care, their authority over you stands. Even if you made a promise to God and your father refuses it and disallows you, God will forgive you and clear you, but your father shall bear your iniquity and give an account to God over your life (Num. 30.15).
Divine authority, wisdom and instructions that can make your life right, their personal life experiences are all the treasures that God has embedded in the lives of parents, including unbelieving parents for their children. Our Father is the God of all flesh, and the Father of all spirits. He has used an ass before, to speak to a prophet (Num.22: 21-31); how much more can He speak unto and through human beings though they are not yet Christians. God put His will in the heart of the unbelieving king Cyrus of Babylon to execute it. Will He therefore not be able to put His counsel in the heart of your parents for you so that you can do His will? You must not be unbelieving. Don’t limit God with the limit of your thinking. Whether your parents are believers or not, God is able to turn their hearts as streams of water, to be in consonance with His will for your life. All you need is to pray, believe God and obey. The treasures of wisdom, knowledge, experiences and even material possessions that God has given your parents are meant for you. Though a child may have more clothes than an elder, he can never have as many rags. As you behave yourself wisely and humbly obeying and honouring them, these treasures will normally flow to you through them. When a child is submissive and respectful, parents are happy to share their experiences with him and lavish their resources on him. There is usually liberty of discussion and relationship between such children and their parents. But when you are stubborn, always insisting on your own will, it would close your parents’ bowels of resourcefulness towards you. Whatever God has placed in them for you will not flow freely. So Heb. 13:17 says.
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you”.
Obey your parents, not just because it is convenient, but because God will take them seriously over their report about you. If yo u cause them grief by disobeying them, they will not be joyful in watching over you and in giving an account to God about you and that will not be profitable for you. Even if they do not open their mouth to accuse you before God or report you to Him, God who searches the heart will not excuse you for your wrong doing. Being obedient to your parents is to your advantage, not a tyranny.
2. Obey them that it may be well with you.
Honour thy father and mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee. Deut.5: 16. It is important to note that your well being is directly tied to your obedience to your parents. Many children are confused today, being unable to make progress in life and in their career because of disobedience to parents. Some fall from one mischief to another simply because they have no regard for their parents and whatever instructions they give them. They are like sheep without a shepherd, roaming about in the bush of this world with no parental cover over their lives. They often fall prey to the wolves of this world; they are harassed and helpless, learning in a hard way as they pass through life without regard for parental experience and instructions. Some children, even Christian children may even die in such situations without fulfilling the reason why they were born, facing eternity hopelessly. That is not the will of God.
Parental authority over your life is for your proper shepherding so that it may be well with you. Things never go well with the disobedient. You have never passed through life before. You need someone who has passed through youthful life to shepherd you properly as a youth so that you can learn from their experience. The marital or even schooling experience of your parents can be very useful for your learning so that where they fell, you will not fall there. But when you are disobedient, you are only preparing for an unnecessary suffering and hardship. Your parents may not necessarily be right all the time but you can relate with them with understanding and respect, honouring them as people who watch over your soul.
3. That you may live long on the earth.
Again the length of your years on earth is directly tied to how obedient you are to your parents. Many children die young in their youthful years or middle age because of disobedience to parents. As you refuse their authority over you, their cover over your life is also automatically removed and your life becomes exposed to the devil. Disobedience is one serious sin that opens the door for the devil to attack any one. Your parents are like an hedge, a fence around your life. As long as you are obedient to them and you honour them, the fence is secure. But once you rebel, the hedge is broken and your defense is removed. And you know that anyone who breaks an hedge, serpent shall bite him. Sometimes as a child, something tells you that your parents are gagging you too much because they would not allow you to do what you want. You conclude that perhaps they don’t love you. You desire independence and so you break loose from their control. It is a snare. The serpent is waiting outside the fence to attack you. Beware! Your life may be suddenly cut short contrary to your expectation. Every child left to himself will normally spoil. And he who is often rebuked and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy ( Prov. 29:1 ) . May that not be your portion in Jesus name.
4. The command is a Lamp and the teaching a Light.
“My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching… For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light and the corrections of discipline are the way to life”. (Prov 6: 20-23 NIV ).
As you travel through life’s journey, you need a lamp for your feet and light on your path. As said before, you have never passed this life before but at least your parents have gone through life before you. You must respect their experience. Don’t allow over familiarity to make you despise your parents. You may be missing certain jewels of instructions that way. Children that take time to incline their ears to parental experiences and instructions are wise. They will be saved from many troubles. May God grant you understanding in Jesus’ name.
However there are times when parental instructions run contrary to God’s will that a child has come to understand by the grace of God. This does not happen only with unbelieving parents but even with parents who are Christians. What should a child do at such times? 1Tim 5:1 says, “Rebuke not an elder but entreat with him as a father…” Note the word ‘entreat’. It means beg, plead. The fact that your parents have made a mistake concerning a decision over your life is not an excuse for misbehaviour towards them. You must be careful lest in an attempt to obey the will of God you are treated by God Himself as a rebel. There is need for wisdom at such points.
There is need for you to humble yourself and beg God to put the right thing in the heart of your parents. Any attempt to correct them must be done by prayerfully entreating them, appreciating their care and love and pleading with them to consider what you are saying. Say it, not as a command or with finality but as a suggestion, leaving them to make the final decision and have the last say over the matter. When you humble yourself this way, you are putting yourself in a position where God’s help can reach you . God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Look at Jesus, the pattern child, in His own youthfull years (Lk 2: 41- 52).
“Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days as they returned, the child Jesus, tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it….and it came to pass that, after three days, they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were amazed at His understanding and answers. And when they saw Him, they were astonished and His mother said unto Him, son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought Thee, sorrowing. And He said unto them, how is it that ye sought Me? Knew ye not that I must be about My Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which He spoke unto them and He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them, but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
There was the feast of Passover which Jesus’ parents used to attend in Jerusalem every year. He was the one that God was preparing to bring in the new covenant in order for the old to be discarded and He knew it even at that age of twelve. Yet He was humble enough to participate in the yearly feast under the old covenant with His parents. He did not arrogantly refuse to follow His parents to that ‘dead’ church since He knew better than them. He humbled Himself; the Bible says He was made, fashioned, brought up under the Law (Gal. 4:4), yet not contaminated. Many parents have this against their ‘Christian’ children. As soon as this child is born again, he stops going to his parents church with no explanation or apology, with no regard for what ever the parents have to say. Though some churches may clearly not be conducive for the spiritual growth of a Christian because of their demonic worship, not all churches are like that. Some churches that look dead today, look so because of wrong leadership. God may revive them tomorrow. That is not enough reason to go against your parents wish and abandon going to church with them. You can actually belong to the same church with your parents, and then, if you have a good Christian fellowship group around you, you can also be a part of that to supply whatever else you may be lacking. Once it is not done in rebellion to your parents, they may release you; yet it will not be a compromise in God’s sight for you to follow them to church. As you learn to grow more and more in the fellowship of believers, you put it to practice in your parents’ church. That becomes a mission field for you. Light never runs away from darkness. It is darkness that disappears at the sight of light (though sometimes with persecution). Jesus went every year with His parents to the feast of Passover.
But something happened when He was twelve years old. As He went with them to Jerusalem that year, He went with a vision, a zeal to get about doing His Father’s business, to fulfill the will of God for His life. After all the ceremonies, He waited behind to hear the teachers of the law and ask them questions. The Son of the Most High God sat to listen to the teachers of the law, the ‘dead’ pastors, learning from them and asking them questions. If Jesus could humble Himself to learn this way, why can’t we?
And He waited behind, thinking that His parents should know by now that He must be about His Father’s business. He thought they knew, but they did not. Sometimes your parents may not know or understand the will of God for your life. You must not take their authority over you for granted because of that. You may need to start discussing with them as soon as you discover it, so that they can willingly release you to serve God at the appropriate time.
Jesus discovered that they did not know that He should be about His Father’s business even at that age. Instead, they were looking for Him, sorrowing after Him. They still wanted Him to remain under them. It is possible that your parents may ignorantly not want to release you quickly into the purpose of God for your life for whatever reason. That is not an excuse for you to rebel. What did Jesus do? ‘And He went down with them…’ You need to humble yourself and come down. Come down from your so-called platform of service. Come down from your presumption. Come down ‘with them’. It may not be convenient. It may look as if your parents are trying to waste your time. But since Jesus came down, you must come down too. He is our pattern; He is our example. You may have become so convinced about God’s call over your life. Yet, because you are still a youth, you must come down and that will not be contrary to the divine nature, neither will it be looked upon by God as compromise. Jesus went down with them to Nazareth, ‘and was subject unto them’. Your coming down must not still be in arrogance or with a grudge. It must be with respect for your parents. You must be subject to them and submit to their training and their decisions. After humbling Himself this way, look at what happened:
‘And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.’ (Vs.52).
See what Jesus would have missed if He did not go down and become submissive to His parents. Who knows whether His growth would have been terminated at that level. Premature entry into ministry would have terminated His growth and cut Him short of where God was taking Him. Yet He needed growth in wisdom, stature, experience, and growth in favour with God and man in order for the will and call of God to prosper in His life (Heb 2:9-10 AMP). It gave Him the prerequisite human experience needed for Him to be a perfect leader. Many young people who rushed unadvisedly into ministry are languishing today. Contrary to the counsel of their physical or spiritual parents, they entered into Christian service with little or no spiritual experience to qualify them as a leader. You must learn from Jesus and be wise.
However when Jesus grew matured and was about thirty years old, He took steps to enter into His call. At about that age He was baptized by John and received the Holy Spirit (Lk 3:21-23). Thereafter, He was led of the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. When He returned, He heard that John was cast into prison, so He departed into Galilee. (Matt 4:12-14). He left Nazareth where He was brought up and went to live in Galilee preaching the gospel.
There is time for everything. After the incidence between Him and His parents at the Passover, when He was twelve years old, what Jesus told His parents about getting into His Father’s business touched them. The Bible says ‘Mary kept all these sayings in her heart’. (Lk 2:5) Having gone down to Nazareth with them, proving His obedience unto them, He grew. And when it was time for Him to enter into His call, it was not a difficult one, because He was matured physically and spiritually, and secondly, He grew in favour with them. All these are important for effective ministry. You cannot wave the goodwill of your parents anyhow and go far with God. Even if at that point when it is time for you to enter into God’s call, if your parents refuse, you must be humble to explain your decision to them and be ready to submit to their persecution with joy, so that the gospel you preach be not blasphemed. Remember Samson (Judges 13:24-25, 14:1-3). He was a Nazarite from his mother’s womb. There was already a prophecy concerning what he would become even before he was conceived. And when he was born, he grew and the spirit of God started moving upon his life. But when it came to the time of marriage, he disobeyed his parents and even God’s law by attempting to marry an unbeliever. Thank God that, that arrangement was eventually scattered. Yet he did not learn his lesson. He went on in disobedience and immorality and his life was cut short, without being able to fulfill God’s call on his life. He did not live long on earth.
God’s fence over your life as a young person, commanding you to obey and honour your parents, is not a means of oppressing you. It is a defense for your life. It is for your proper shepherding that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. May God grant you understanding and enable you to obey in Jesus’ name.
FATHERS, PROVOKE NOT YOUR CHILDREN TO ANGER.
‘And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord’. Eph 6-4.
‘Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they be discouraged’. Col 3:21.
The authority of parents over their children is not arbitrary. We are stewards over God’s heritage. Even though God brought these children into the world through us, they are God’s own heritage, God’s property. They are not our own. We are only stewards in handling the lives of our children. Every child that comes to the world has a divine purpose to fulfill for God. Even though the devil sometimes hijacks that purpose, God’s will still stands, and He gives each parent the privilege to train, fashion and direct their children in line with God’s purpose. He delegates His authority over our children to us so that we can bring them up for Him. He puts divine ability in us for us to do the job, and creates a need for parents in the life of the child so that your authority can hold. That is why a child is normally not able to fend for himself, and he needs direction from parents. Otherwise we will have no opportunity to be of help to our children or to render any service to them. Therefore there will be no functional authority over them.
Arbitrary exercise of authority over our children can provoke them to anger, as there would be no basis for such authority. It will look like tyranny and that will not achieve God’s purpose. Rather, our relationship with our children in the exercise of our authority must be functional. When you play a meaningful and helpful role in the upbringing of a child, it is clear that such a child will normally obey and respect you. But if what you do all the time is to issue decrees and enforce it by your strength, not minding whether the child understands what you are saying to him or not, you may end up provoking him to anger. The child may turn against you and against God’s purpose and become wayward.
Instead, we have a God-given responsibility as parents to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. There is something God has embedded in the life of every parent for the child just as He put breast milk in the body of the mother, not for the mother but for the baby. To deny them of this is only to starve them of the necessary life ingredients that can make them live right.
There are commands that must come from fathers to their children to make them live right. These commands must not have their origin from the father’s self interest but from the Lord, just as the authority of a father over a child has its origin from God. Every father has a responsibility to receive instructions from God for his family and for each of his children in particular. It is as you play the role of an overseer over the life of your child, seeing beyond what they can see, being able to perceive the vision of God for their lives, that your authority has a basis. Authority and submission between you and your child will flow with little or no effort. But when a father cannot see God’s purpose for his child in order to teach him the way he should go, such a child learns to fend for himself and you soon become irrelevant in his life. He sees little or no need for you in his life and he regards your arbitrary orders as oppression. Many times, such children choose the wrong way of life and fall into many troubles, which in turn will give you no rest as a father. But when you train your child early in life, in the way he should go, he will give you rest.
When a father learns to receive commands from the Lord for his children, the mother then has issues to teach them. She takes each command and breaks it down into bits that each child can understand. She applies it to daily life and it soon becomes the child’s lifestyle. That is the God-given functional authority of the mother. Mothers are meant to be teachers of divine principles to their children. You are given the privilege to be closer to your child even from the womb. It is to enable you to be relevant in your children’s life and to have an unquestionable authority over them. But if you abandon your children especially in their formative years, you open the door for the devil to sow his own kind of seeds in their lives. It may not be apparent today but by the time these seeds take root, you will partake of its fruits. It will bring you sorrow even in your old age.
The commands of the father are a lamp, and the teaching of a mother is a light to the life of every child. Failure to play your part is to plunge them into darkness in life. Nothing can be as wicked as that. May God give you understanding.
Bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Don’t wait until they are old before starting to train them. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth, taught her child John to be a Nazarite from the womb, by herself obeying the law of the Nazarite consecration. Life example sticks faster in a child than many words of teaching.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”. Deut 6:6-7.
In as much as it is good and important to teach your children the word of God that is not the first thing to do. You must first make sure you teach yourself. You must yourself be obedient to the word of God. You that say your child must not steal, you must make sure you do not cheat people. You that desire that your child be spiritual must not be worldly. Life is what begets life. The word of God must first become flesh in you if it must become the lifestyle of your children. Your life is the weight that will hammer the nail of the word of God into your children’s lives. The effectiveness of the word of God in their lives depends directly on your own obedience to the Lord and His word. Make sure you pay attention to your personal lives as parents.
Then, take time and work hard and spend money if need be, to teach them God’s word at any time and in any situation. When you sit in your house, speak God’s word to their hearts. When you walk by the way or when you lie down, do the same. Write God’s word on your doorposts and your walls or put posters containing scriptural writings and illustrations. As you do these, you are sowing a seed into their hearts; the seed of the word of God. When that seed begins to bear fruit, you will eat out of it and they will give you rest. Win them for Christ and demand for their response to the Lord as early as possible. Don’t say they will not understand. They will, and God also understands. Follow it up properly. By the time they grow older, they will make a firmer decision to follow the Lord and that will set their lives on the right path in life.
As a child grows older, he may begin to take personal decisions, which may sometimes be contrary to your instructions as parents. It is important to know that even as parents, we could be wrong sometimes. In times of such conflicts, pray and find out God’s counsel over the matter. If you discover that you are right and the child is wrong, make it a matter of prayer again, for your child to have more understanding of what the will of the Lord is; don’t despise his decision especially if he is a Christian and a bit matured. God’s will cannot be achieved by human energy, but by the spirit of the Lord. But if you discover that you are the one that is wrong, there is nothing wrong in admitting your fault. Your humility will speak to your child even louder than your words.
The authority given to us by God over our children is not for us to achieve our selfish interest in their lives but to enable us train them in the way of the Lord. The moment you misuse the authority, you will reap rebellion in their lives sooner or later. There is need to follow the maker’s instruction in order to achieve the right result in the lives of our children.
Moses’ parents saw beyond the physical, concerning their son Moses. They risked their lives to ensure that the child lived while other Israelite sons were being killed. Though brought up in the palace of Pharaoh, his mother continued to instruct him about God’s purpose for keeping him alive. Eventually when Moses became matured, he did not depart from the will of God but accomplished it. Rebecca, being pregnant with twins was moved to go and seek God’s face concerning the babies in her womb. There she received God’s eternal plans and instructions concerning the children yet unborn, and she followed it up to make sure God’s will came to pass. These people obeyed God as faithful stewards and their children became answers to the cry of the people. Abraham was so trusted by God that even before the child of promise was born, God testified of him saying; “…for I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him”. (Gen 18:19)
And he actually did command his household to follow the way of the Lord. Does God know you? Can He testify about you that you are trustworthy? Look at your children today, how faithful have you been as a steward in bringing them up? How do you use your authority over your children? What testimony do you have among them? Your life will normally command respect and obedience if you simply and faithfully perform your God-given role as a father or mother to your children. And the will of God shall be done in their lives, in your family, in the body of Christ and in the world at large. May you be dependable in Jesus’ name, Amen!
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