Shepherding a Child's Heart

(^) Should this surprise you?
(^) Who should be more relevant to your children? You know them.
You know the subtle nuances of their personalities. You know their
strengths and weaknesses. You know their life experiences. You
understand them. You also know God. You have the Word of God.
You know the ways of God. You have struggled and battled to live the
Christian life. You understand the disciplines and dangers of
Christian living. You understand the world in which they live. You
understand the pressures they are now facing. You are committed to
them and to God. There is no one who loves them more, who is more
deeply committed to them, who accepts them unconditionally. There
is no one who will be more honest or more tender. To abandon the
instruction and teaching of Mother and Father is lunacy.
(^) If you are living in integrity with God and your children, none of
the above is overstated. If you are honestly sharing your life
experience and how you have come to know God more deeply and
find him more and more satisfying, you are showing the viability of
Christian faith.
(^) Your relationship with your children must be honest. You must
never give advice that suits your convenience or that spares you
trouble or embarrassment. You must be parents who have
demonstrated that you are not using your children in any way. If those
things are in place, your child will not generally want to remove
himself from parental instruction.
(^) Our son, who was in college, was thinking about taking a long
weekend off to go on a bicycle tour of about 200 miles. He was six
hours away. We never “checked up” on him, yet he called for advice.
He had done a fine job of weighing the pertinent details necessary to
make a sound decision. He called, however, to run the idea by his
mom and dad. Why did he do this? Not because we required it. Not
because he was insecure with making decisions, but because he was
convinced that we are trusted guides. He also knows that we would