Aug
24
More Valuable Than Sheep
Filed Under Devotional
“Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to his death.” Proverbs 19:18
Wyatt quoted this verse in a previous Push Up and, as I read it, I realized what a personal perspective it gave me. I know many parents work very hard to raise their children to follow the Lord. Sometimes it takes and sometimes it doesn’t… right away. I have developed a philosophy over the years concerning a popular counseling point of view. That point of view says that there comes a point when you cut a child loose and let him go his own way and fall as far as he is going to fall. I tell you now, and it’s alright to disagree with me, that I think this suggestion is wrong to the core.
“And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?” Matthew 12:11
I can think of very few moves more un-Jesus-like than to abandon a child. Because a child goes astray, are we to say, “Well, I did my best and it just didn’t take”? One thing is for sure, no human being ever does his best and he can always do better with help.
Until your children breathe their last breaths (or you breathe yours), you should be available. What a terrible thing for a child to think that, when he is ready to repent, there is nobody there to acknowledge, encourage, invest, and set and example for him. Our children may exceed our expectations or they may fall short, but if they finally want to come home to Jesus and the parent is not there, then the risk is that the parent will be a “willing party to his death.” There is no blame here, only a duty to God.
My parents were divorced and neither my father nor my mother were perfect. However, they spoke poetry to me when I was out on my own. My mother always said I was welcome to come home if I was willing to follow the rules. My dad, now also gone home to Jesus, always told me, “You can hang your hat here anytime.” Dad didn’t have to tell me about following the rules. That was just understood.
There are always exceptions where evil is concerned and I would never advocate placing anyone in physical danger. God gave us common sense and responsibility, but even if our children are in institutions, they must know that if they follow the rules and accept the consequences of their actions, they can always be forgiven.
“How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:12