Sharing a devotional with you from Proverbs 22:6 – Teaching our Children
Verse 6 says, “6 Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
This passage reminds us just how important it is to teach our children in the ways of the LORD so that even when they’re old, they will not turn from it. This also reminds us just how privileged and hefty our responsibilities are as parents and teachers. If we teach them the way they should go when they’re young, they will stick to it even when they’re old. Meaning, what we do for these kids and how we teach them will actually affect their entire life! Either the LORD will become their source of life, their salvation and grounded in His word or they will live and do as they please.
I remember stepping foot into the church for the first time when I was 6. I was taught in the ways of the LORD ever since and it has been a tremendous blessing to me. As I grew, I held on to God through the good and the bad. I have all my Sunday School teachers and those who had invested in me to thank. They probably had never expected that this little boy would eventually grow up, and by God’s gracious calling, would become a pastor. If those invested in me never did so, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
In the same way, we do not know the plans God has for all the children we now have the privilege to teach and to invest in. Whether at home with your own kids or through ministries at church or through our service to our communities, we have opportunities to invest and to teach our beloved children in the ways of the LORD. So do not belittle any opportunity and do not forget our responsibility that we ought to invest in our next generation. Persevere in it even when our children are being difficult and seemingly not listening. As we plant those seeds, the good LORD will make it grow. They will one day grow up and be called by the LORD to be our future church leaders, our Sunday school teachers, our praise team members, our deacons, elders, pastors, missionaries and those in the workforce bringing the light of the LORD wherever they go. What a great reminder this is! May God continue to remind us to teach our children in the ways of the LORD, so that even after they grow old, they will not turn from it. May the LORD bless you as you bless these children.
Blessings,
Kelsey