"And God blessed them, and said unto them; be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea; over the fowls of the ear, and over every creeping things that moves upon the earth". Genesis 1:28
What does it mean to be blessed? It means being empowered to prosper. God's blessing comes in many forms: spiritually, physically, mentally, financially, relationally, economically, politically etc.
One of the ways God bless people is by giving them children who will perpetuate or carry on their name. For example, your parents carried on the names of their parents who are your own grandparents. You have carried on the names of your parents; your children are carrying on your name. Its beyond just the name; its your legacy, your identity and personality that is being perpetuated. That is why one of the many covenants God made with David was that he would always have someone to carry his name.
Children are special blessings from God because they are His heritage: they belong to Him; He owns them. Psalms 127, reading from verse two states "Lo, children are the heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is its reward..." They are His own, yet He gave them to us to look after. Yes! That child is your boy and she is your girl. Nonetheless, they are His, He only entrusted them to your stewardship because John 3:27 says, "No man can receive anything, except it be given him of my father which is in heaven". Since these children were entrusted to your stewardship, let it be settled in your heart that you will one day give account to God for them, just like every other resources He has brought your way. Having received a blessing that we must account for, how do we ensure that in this life, and in the life to come, we do not get condemned?
How do we handle this 'blessing'?
1. Comprehensive training
Proverbs 22:6 reads, " Train up a child in the way he should go, that when he is old; he would not depart from it".
The bible says, 'train up'. It implies that every time we train our children or wards appropriately, there is a place we are preparing them for; that place is called 'UP'. It also implies that training builds. When you start a structure, you start building from the base, then you add one block after the other. Each block raises the building; it takes it up. Therefore, the Scripture is right when it states, 'train up a child....'
From the text, 'Train up a child in the way he should go....', it can be deduced that training begins from childhood. And of course, there are trainings appropriate for every age. I want to emphasize that there is a kind of training appropriate for every age. We should know this so that according to Ephesians 6:4, we do not end up provoking our children to wrath in the name of training. Someone said, "It is easier to train a child than to mend or rehabilitate an adult". The elders have a saying, " An untrained child will sell the house that was built with much labour ".
This training from childhood must follow a pattern. The training must lead the child in the way that he should go. It means that the there is a way. The training is tailored and must be tailored towards the way; not just a way or any way. Of course, there are many ways, but there is the way. Following the way, and staying on course will help our children or ward become what God intends that they become in the future. Help yourself, your children, the society, and the world at large by training up your children and wards in the way to go.
Knowing that the training is a comprehensive one, what are the forms of training that children should be exposed to so that they can grow to become responsible adults? This affects us all. Kindly send in your response; it will surely bless lives.
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