Thursday, September 15, 2011
2 Timothy 3:15 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for ... correcting.
USE THE SCRIPTURES TO CORRECT YOUR CHILDREN
It's instructive to notice how often Jesus, during His public ministry, used God's Word for the purpose of correcting. Recall the story of the disciples arguing on the road about which of them was the greatest. Jesus took a child, set him in front of them, and said: "Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For he who is least among you all -- He is the greatest" (Luke 9:46-48). In this way He corrected their wrongheaded thinking (uncovering their sin of pride and fostering in them a humble spirit). On another occasion when Peter told Jesus: "You oughtn't go to Jerusalem. Far be it from You that You should die!" He rebuked Peter, saying: "Get behind me, Satan! You don't have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:22-23). In this way He helped Peter towards a better understanding of His loving mission as mankind's Savior.
The story of Jesus in the home Martha and Mary also comes to mind. When Martha got her priorities mixed up, thinking that cooking dinner for Jesus was more important than letting Him serve her with the Bread of Life, He said: "You're troubled about many things, dear Martha. But one thing's needful and sister Mary has chosen that good part which won't be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41). So we see how Jesus frequently used the Word for the beneficial purpose of correcting.
He encourages us to use His Word for the same purpose as we train up our children for Him. When, for example, the sins of contentiousness, pride, or misplaced priorities crop up in their lives, we're to use His Word to lead our children to a more complete understanding of His good and gracious will. We're to help them see that when parents use the Word to correct wrong behavior, it is an expression of true parental love and flows form the desire of parents to guide their children in the blessed ways of their Savior.
As the author of Hebrews said: "The Lord disciplines those He loves and punishes everyone He accepts as a son ... No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (12:6, 11).
