Leading Our Children To Our Father
BRD REFLECTIONS:
1 Kings 1:1-53 and Psalm 78:1-31 (NIV)
(Aw Meng Yin, BRD Core Team)
READ:
1 Kings 1:5,6
Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)
OBSERVE:
In 1 Kings chapter 1, we read of Adonijah, one of King David’s sons, who decided that he would succeed King David. We are told that King David had never rebuked him and questioned what he did. He was also a handsome man. It is probable that Adonijah was a son King David was very proud of and hence spoilt to a certain extent. Adonijah sought advice from those he wanted to listen to and put aside those whom he knew or suspected would not agree with his plans. He made the decision to be his father’s successor based on what he wanted, what he desired and was dismissive of his father’s wishes or God’s will.
In Psalm 78:1-31, the Psalmist speaks of how God’s laws and works among His people should be told from generation to generation so that God’s people will not forget what God has done for them. The emphasis is on the need to tell our children and our children’s children about God so that they will know Him, trust Him, and keep His commands.
APPLY:
As I read the passages, I am reminded of the importance of teaching my grandson well even as I watch him grow. It is so easy to love him, to think the world of him, to be proud of how clever he is. Often, his antics come across as cute and I readily brush aside misgivings even as I recognise that he is beginning to exert his little power and test boundaries. 1 Kings 1:5, 6 reminds me that I would not want him to go wayward because his parents (and grandparents) never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” As an educator, I have come across students who misbehave, and it is always gratifying when they acknowledge they have done wrong, and their parents show tough love knowing that it is best to correct them while they are still young and in school. I have also met those who seem to think that loving their children means being on their side always, even when they are in the wrong. We all need wisdom to parent our young well.
DO:
I will take my God-given duty to teach my grandson well even though it would be so much easier to just be a doting grandmother. As he grows up, I will tell him of God’s faithfulness in my life so that he will know Him, grow to trust Him and be His disciple too. I will teach him to differentiate right from wrong and to reprimand him when necessary, so that he will not grow up wayward. In the same vein, I will advise young parents to be firm and discipline their children while they love them completely.
PRAY:
Father, help us to learn how to bring up our children to know You, love You and serve You. Grant us wisdom in all that we say and do so that we may be good role-models to them and shine Your light into their lives. We commit our children, Lord, into Your hands. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
