John Kennedy, the 35th president of USA said,“Children are the greatest resource of the world, and the greatest hope for the future.”

Usually, people want to get valuables, and do everything they can in order to get them. We never see gold lying on the street, as valuable items are kept in safe places, in order to be protected. The following are some of reasons that I believe show that children are valuable:

– they are created in the image of God;

– they have their future in front of them;

– for them, as for all of us, a great ransom price was paid;

– the Scriptures speaks much about children;

– the Lord Jesus received them and blessed them.

As parents, we need to realise that the valuables we have are a target for those who do nothing else than steal. But who steals our children? How do they steal them?

We live in a society which speaks much about the fundamental needs of children. Some emphasise their need of love, others the need of food and clothes and others consider that the essential need of children is education. It is true that there are many needs in the lives of children, but for those who believe in God, the fundamental need should be the spiritual one. Children need God in their lives. They need to be taught to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus, as this can transform their lives.

In this generation, for most parents, offering children a home with an education according to Biblical principles has become a foreign and old concept. Instead of this being a priority for the family, today’s children are educated and taught in secular institutions and in many cases even atheistic ones. Many of the children are left in the care of such institutions from a very early age. However, God’s plan was that parents are to be the first to invest in the education and spiritual formation of their own children.

Christian parents should be worried that such conceptsare entering rapidly into the modern Christian family. Because of the pressure to be conformed to the current norms, most Christians consider that the Biblical teaching about this subject has become old and unused, as society asks for a different approach in raising children. Parents are permanently under pressure due to lack of time and money, and if a sacrifice is needed to be made, most of the time it is the child and his education who will suffer. Despite these things, for sure, the principles of the Word of God are relevantfor the times we live in.

Education in the family had an important role throughout human history. The Jews knew this and they never departed from the position of giving to the family the central role in education. The Bible is full of references about children, their growth and also about the way in which parents got involved or not in the lives of their children.

The modern family needs to reform its thinking towards the concept of the family and towards the responsibility God gave to the parents in the growth and spiritual formation of those who are the future of the nation.

Slowly, but surely, children are stolen by the society in which we live. I urge you to get involved in raisingyour children according to the principles of Scripture, and not of this world. Only then, will our children be safe.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

 

 

Iulian Mangalagiu – CEF Romania National Director