Gods Design for Parents
“Mummy!” cried the little fellow. “Sarah has taken my jigsaw puzzle away and hidden it. It’s not fair that she bullies me like this. Tell her to give it back to me!”
The lads mother looks up from the TV she is watching and says, “Give it back to Joe please Sarah.”
12 year old Sarah has a glint in her eye as she looks at Joe. “Joe is being silly… it’s my jigsaw puzzle!”
Joe stands up as tall as his 7 years will allow and puffs out his chest to make himself look more like Daddy, “No! It’s mine!”
Voices become raised.
“Liar!”
“Cheat!”
“Selfish boy!”
“Children, please! Stop fighting and go away and play… I am trying to watch TV, and I don’t need your bickering.” The mother reached for the chocolates and poked the pillow more firmly behind her back. Why were her children so tiresome these days she wondered? They seemed to irritate her with their silly nonsense. Things didn’t seem the same as they did back when Jim first married her. What had changed?
As she watching the Soap Opera on the Television, thoughts kept popping forward to challenge her… “It’s not the children, it’s you! You are the one who has become selfish. You are the one who takes no notice of them and finds them boring… you are the one who treat them as an obligation, yes, an obligation! As they are your children you are obligated to feed and water them, just like you do with the family cat or dog.”
Parents, is this example you? Do you treat your family as an obligation? Do you find their fears, joys, interests, loves and excitements a burden? Do you wish sometimes you could be free like you were when you were first married? Free to go where you like, do what you like and be who you like?
If you can say yes to any of those questions you need to seriously look at yourself and question if you really understand true Christian life. For family life is giving more than receiving. It loves and does not hate. It supports and does not tear down.
There was once a good Christian man who had two daughters… they were Rachel and Mary, and they were 4 and 7 years old respectively. One fine autumn afternoon they got into trouble… I forget what they did wrong, but whatever it was, it saddened their Mummy and Daddy. The two girls knew exactly what would happen… they would be sent to their room, Daddy would come up about 5 minutes later… remove his belt and give each of them 3 stinging lashes across their bottoms as they bent over the bed. Their faces fell as Daddy gave the order to march!
The closer they got to their room the slower they walked. You see, they were not particularly good little girls, for they had been in trouble before.
They entered their bedroom and sat down on the bed side by side like a couple of very unhappy sparrows after a storm. They had begun to wish they hadn’t been so naughty… they could already feel the pain of the smack they were shortly to receive.
Finally, they could hear the familiar stomp, stomp on the stairs. Daddy was coming! The sisters looked at each other and shuddered…
Their Daddy opened the door and strode in. He had an odd look on his face as he looked at his daughters.
“Girls! You were extremely naughty today. You disappointed your Mummy and I. Does that bother you?”
The youngest lass piped up, “Yes Daddy, I’m sorry!”
“ Very good Rachel,” said her father, “But as you have done wrong you deserve punishment.”
The girls lowered their eyes and looked at the floor in shame.
Their Daddy stepped forward and knelt beside them. “My children, I want to explain something, and I want you to never forget as long as you live.”
His voice was thick with emotion as he continued.
“When a person does wrong God has ordained punishment to be given out. Today you sinned against your parents and God. You now deserve to be smacked. There is nothing I can do to prevent this. Because you did wrong you have earned the punishment… even though no-one wants you to have it.
The man’s voice became husky.
“But my dear daughters, when man sinned against God he was given a one way ticket to Hell. Nothing could be done to retract that. Even God could not change it! However the Lord came up with a plan. If a man who lived a totally perfect life died for the sinners he would take their punishment. It meant a man who had never done any wrong in his life… he would bear the pain and suffering for the people who had done wrong. So God decided to become a man and walk this earth and then die as a perfect sacrifice… for everyone.”
Daddy stood up suddenly and removed his shirt and his belt. He handed the belt to the oldest girl and knelt at the bedside. “I was not the one who was naughty today, but I will bear your pain… just as Jesus did our sin. Give me 3 lashes each.”
The dumbstruck daughters looked at each other in horror! Their precious Daddy was asking them to whip him for their wrong doing? But that was impossible? They loved him to bits. They couldn’t, they simply couldn’t do it!
The strap dropped from Mary's hand as she threw herself into her Daddies arms. Dear old Daddy! He hugged his crying children close and comforted them, happy they had learnt a valuable lesson in life.
Parents, never forget that once upon a time YOU were children. You once thought silly things. You once did stupid things. So why be critical of your children?
Teach and admonish your children, and bring them up in righteousness and truth… and one day they will thank-you for it.
Mothers, teach your sons to respect all people, to honour God, and to treat women as made with finer clay. Correct them when they do wrong, but do it with a loving Christ like heart.
Fathers, teach your daughters to be good helpmeets and to serve God with a whole heart. Teach them that it is a good thing to be a woman… to be feminine. They need correction just like sons… to be shown the right way live in the complete will of God.
Fathers and Mothers, I would like to say just one thing more before closing… Create friendships with your children. Talk with them, play with them… be interested in what they do. Never appear bored with their talk or they will shut up and never tell you things. Trust is extremely important in a family… trust and respect. Without this the family will crumble into ruin.
Truly I say a God fearing family is a happy contented family, with Christ at the centre.
The lads mother looks up from the TV she is watching and says, “Give it back to Joe please Sarah.”
12 year old Sarah has a glint in her eye as she looks at Joe. “Joe is being silly… it’s my jigsaw puzzle!”
Joe stands up as tall as his 7 years will allow and puffs out his chest to make himself look more like Daddy, “No! It’s mine!”
Voices become raised.
“Liar!”
“Cheat!”
“Selfish boy!”
“Children, please! Stop fighting and go away and play… I am trying to watch TV, and I don’t need your bickering.” The mother reached for the chocolates and poked the pillow more firmly behind her back. Why were her children so tiresome these days she wondered? They seemed to irritate her with their silly nonsense. Things didn’t seem the same as they did back when Jim first married her. What had changed?
As she watching the Soap Opera on the Television, thoughts kept popping forward to challenge her… “It’s not the children, it’s you! You are the one who has become selfish. You are the one who takes no notice of them and finds them boring… you are the one who treat them as an obligation, yes, an obligation! As they are your children you are obligated to feed and water them, just like you do with the family cat or dog.”
Parents, is this example you? Do you treat your family as an obligation? Do you find their fears, joys, interests, loves and excitements a burden? Do you wish sometimes you could be free like you were when you were first married? Free to go where you like, do what you like and be who you like?
If you can say yes to any of those questions you need to seriously look at yourself and question if you really understand true Christian life. For family life is giving more than receiving. It loves and does not hate. It supports and does not tear down.
There was once a good Christian man who had two daughters… they were Rachel and Mary, and they were 4 and 7 years old respectively. One fine autumn afternoon they got into trouble… I forget what they did wrong, but whatever it was, it saddened their Mummy and Daddy. The two girls knew exactly what would happen… they would be sent to their room, Daddy would come up about 5 minutes later… remove his belt and give each of them 3 stinging lashes across their bottoms as they bent over the bed. Their faces fell as Daddy gave the order to march!
The closer they got to their room the slower they walked. You see, they were not particularly good little girls, for they had been in trouble before.
They entered their bedroom and sat down on the bed side by side like a couple of very unhappy sparrows after a storm. They had begun to wish they hadn’t been so naughty… they could already feel the pain of the smack they were shortly to receive.
Finally, they could hear the familiar stomp, stomp on the stairs. Daddy was coming! The sisters looked at each other and shuddered…
Their Daddy opened the door and strode in. He had an odd look on his face as he looked at his daughters.
“Girls! You were extremely naughty today. You disappointed your Mummy and I. Does that bother you?”
The youngest lass piped up, “Yes Daddy, I’m sorry!”
“ Very good Rachel,” said her father, “But as you have done wrong you deserve punishment.”
The girls lowered their eyes and looked at the floor in shame.
Their Daddy stepped forward and knelt beside them. “My children, I want to explain something, and I want you to never forget as long as you live.”
His voice was thick with emotion as he continued.
“When a person does wrong God has ordained punishment to be given out. Today you sinned against your parents and God. You now deserve to be smacked. There is nothing I can do to prevent this. Because you did wrong you have earned the punishment… even though no-one wants you to have it.
The man’s voice became husky.
“But my dear daughters, when man sinned against God he was given a one way ticket to Hell. Nothing could be done to retract that. Even God could not change it! However the Lord came up with a plan. If a man who lived a totally perfect life died for the sinners he would take their punishment. It meant a man who had never done any wrong in his life… he would bear the pain and suffering for the people who had done wrong. So God decided to become a man and walk this earth and then die as a perfect sacrifice… for everyone.”
Daddy stood up suddenly and removed his shirt and his belt. He handed the belt to the oldest girl and knelt at the bedside. “I was not the one who was naughty today, but I will bear your pain… just as Jesus did our sin. Give me 3 lashes each.”
The dumbstruck daughters looked at each other in horror! Their precious Daddy was asking them to whip him for their wrong doing? But that was impossible? They loved him to bits. They couldn’t, they simply couldn’t do it!
The strap dropped from Mary's hand as she threw herself into her Daddies arms. Dear old Daddy! He hugged his crying children close and comforted them, happy they had learnt a valuable lesson in life.
Parents, never forget that once upon a time YOU were children. You once thought silly things. You once did stupid things. So why be critical of your children?
Teach and admonish your children, and bring them up in righteousness and truth… and one day they will thank-you for it.
Mothers, teach your sons to respect all people, to honour God, and to treat women as made with finer clay. Correct them when they do wrong, but do it with a loving Christ like heart.
Fathers, teach your daughters to be good helpmeets and to serve God with a whole heart. Teach them that it is a good thing to be a woman… to be feminine. They need correction just like sons… to be shown the right way live in the complete will of God.
Fathers and Mothers, I would like to say just one thing more before closing… Create friendships with your children. Talk with them, play with them… be interested in what they do. Never appear bored with their talk or they will shut up and never tell you things. Trust is extremely important in a family… trust and respect. Without this the family will crumble into ruin.
Truly I say a God fearing family is a happy contented family, with Christ at the centre.