Sanctified Children

by Bud Lambert

Child rearing in the twentieth-first century can be a frightening undertaking. The many ways in which our children can be seduced into the hedonistic lifestyles of the world are frightening and sometimes overwhelming to Christian parents who want their children to avoid the consequences of ungodly behavior. Our challenge is one of sanctification � how can we raise our children in the world and, at the same time, help them avoid becoming like the world?

Jesus had the same concern for his disciples. His answer, and ours, is revealed in His prayer found in John 17:15-17: �I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.�

The answer is not to isolate our children from the world in some monastery. But, instead, because our children behave according to what has control of their minds ( Matthew 12:33-35; Proverbs 23:7), the solution is to do everything in our power to make sure their minds are being filled with the truths found in God�s word, instead of the deceptive, selfish, hedonistic ideas of the world. Paul exhorts, �And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: But bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

EXERCISE:
1. This week observe and record the number of minutes you teach your children, or have them taught, the truths of God.
2. Spend at least an additional 30 minutes with your children this week studying the Bible.
3. Pray that God will help you in your efforts to discipline your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

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