A Grateful and Proud Dad
(S) Scripture
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)
Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.
The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.
May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!
Proverbs 23:22-25 (NIV)
(O) Observation
In these two proverbs the writer has given parents a task and then outlined the rewards of following through with the task. Training our children to be persons of faith in Christ is our main task as parents. The rewards are many but great joy and delight are at the top of the list.
(A) Application
Becky and I have two grown daughters, Sarah and Bethany. We knew that if we had great ministries but failed as parents we had not done what God expected of us. We have always understood that the priorities in our lives was:
First our personal relationship with the Lord
Second was our Family
After that came our work and ministry and everything else
That was something we got right and it gives us great joy today. Both girls are growing in their faith, active in their churches and helping others to grow as disciples of Jesus, too. Sarah and her husband are teaching their daughter these lessons of faith with Bible Stories at bedtime and active participation in the children's ministry at their church. Sarah also teaches in the Children's Sunday School. Bethany is very active in her church, small group, she teaches in their children's ministry and she also is an adult advisor to the Youth Ministry Planning Team of the West Virginia Baptist Convention. It is exciting to see your daughters growing and sharing their faith.
The joy we receive is experienced nearly every day when they call to check in and tell us about their days. Sarah is a Deputy Sheriff in Louisiana and Bethany is a Physician's Assistant working with an orthopedic surgeon in West Virginia. They are not only our daughters but are our friends. Great joy and delight.
(P) Prayer
Father, I thank you for the faith and growth we see in our daughters. I thank you for helping me keep my priorities straight. I have great joy because they are following you. Help me now to teach other parents how to have this same joy. Amen
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