Everyone make mistakes. But there’s a difference between making a mistake and living an irresponsible life. We’re accountable for the lives we live and one day each one of us will give an account of our life to God.
Unless dealt with appropriately, conflicts lead to permanent breakdowns in our relationships that time alone cannot heal. If we wish to cultivate healthy relationships, especially with our children, reconciliation is essential. But…how?
Every family has headaches and heartaches. Because human depravity runs deep, it is impossible to rear our children from infancy to independence without encountering times that call for straight talk and tough love. While we love our children no matter what, parents cannot escape those occasions when wills clash, rebellion reaches an impasse, and things get downright impossible.
Having learned some key words in the Bible that pertain to delighting in our offspring, we now need to think about some practical ways we can do just that. As you consider these remember, your children won’t forget the occasions you make to take joy in them. Delightful memories last forever.
While parents need to stand firm on issues that call for a strong hand, disciplining our children must never eclipse delighting in them! Throughout the fabric of Scripture, God has woven numerous statements underscoring the importance of not only expressing but also demonstrating affirmation, encouragement, gentleness, fun, tenderness, and affection toward our children.
Being a parent is one of life’s most delightful and rewarding experiences. At the same time, it can be one of life’s most exasperating and demanding challenges. Parenting works best when we are loving and understanding, consistent and calm in our reactions, and wise and mature in our actions and attitudes. But who on earth does all of that all the time?
We know that we are all sinful and in need of salvation, but often, we fail to consider that we bear the specific “bents” of our parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. When we think about it, all of us must admit the direct link between the people we have become and the lives of those who formed our heritage—for good and for ill.
Can we trace certain acts of iniquity back to our ancestors? The answer is “yes.” The sinful “bents” of our ancestors do not stop with their deaths. Wise are the parents who understand this, observe it in their children, and deal with it appropriately in order to bring an end to long-standing familial iniquity.
No matter how hard parents try, children are determined to go in a direction different from the parents’ desire, and the rebellion persists. What went wrong? What’s missing from this domestic equation? Why is the battle so difficult? The problem boils down to the natural “bents” in every baby.
Join Chuck Swindoll in his Easter message, As Dawn Arrived…He Arose, and allow the light of Christ’s Resurrection to give you hope today. Remember that “weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
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