We are very blessed to be homeschooling and allowing the Word of God (and of course, God Himself!) to be guiding us in our daily lives. The Bible is a core component of our academic work but is also practiced in the way we raise our children. It would certainly be a struggle to nourish our children with God's word if we were to put them in public school. It is not hard to imagine so.
This is not to say that my children are angels (all the time). Yesterday was one such day, it seemed that no. 1 had gotten out of the wrong side of the bed, and no. 2 and 3 had their fair share of struggling with their sinful flesh.
I'll admit, when I was a young mother (in my mid-twenties), I used to hate it when my children behaved badly. It was like, why me? Do I really have to deal with this now? Like what my pastor was saying on Sunday, any parent of young children would know that you know it's morning because the fighting has started. Those who like to wake up too early to a child's crying, raise up your hands. :OP
But the Lord has taught me to embrace these as teaching moments to imprint on their young lives God's ways to living a life that is happy and blessed.
Firstly, they need to know they have sin.
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
We observe our children enough to know what sins they tend towards. (Now, these are young children I'm talking about, older children may have developed better skills in hiding and masking their favourite sins. So that's why it is so important to catch them while they are young!)
Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
When we discipline them, we do not concentrate simply on that event. We talk about that but then concentrate on the sin that was involved. We are not parents who will glaze over our children's bad behaviour as something that will pass. If we do that, it has every opportunity to grow in that child's life.
As I was saying, yesterday was just one big spanking day, with three behinds I had to "set straight" with the rod of correction, one incursion after another. Thankfully, today was a nice day with nary a problem from them. :O)
Round One!
But yesterday, even before we got to the breakfast table, no. 1 and no. 2 had a fight which involved snatching things, calling names and a punch! Whilst spreading peanut butter, I counseled them to think what they (themselves) did wrong. They each gave their sides of the story and still continued to point fingers at each other. They were not ready to make up.
And this was when, my sweet little no. 3, whilst munching his peanut butter sandwich, says from his memory verse,"Charity sufferweth long, and is kind." 1 Corinthians 13: 4. See, how the Word of God is so effective?
I said, "Yes, darling, I know what you mean and I totally agree with you. Kor kor and jie jie are not patient with each other and they are not being kind."
So I had to employ the rod of correction calmly on both of them, handling one at a time, because really, both were at fault. After that, I had to talk to them about going back to the simple rules of asking nicely and waiting and also controlling themselves. And to live peaceably with each other by acknowledging their own faults one to another and being quick to make right.
Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Suddenly, no. 2 (almost 6) comes to me in tears and tells me she lied to me about a detail in her account of what happened. My dear no. 2 is a straight faced "truth bender". We've had to deal with this issue on many occasions, through the years.
Something in her (I pray is the Holy Spirit) so pricked her of her sin that she wanted it settled. She knows that when she tells me she has lied, she will get the rod. But still she came to me, broken by the knowledge of her sin, wanting to face the punishment and then to be reconciled. I was heartened at this improvement, that she actually acknowledged her sin. Again, see how the Word of God is so effective?
So, I delivered the rod of correction for lying to me and also to relieve her of her guilt.
Proverbs 19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
After that, I told her gently, "Mei, you don't like to make mistakes, right? You always want to be right, right? And sometimes you tell a lie because you want to be right when you were not. We are all sinners and we will make lots of mistakes. But covering it up with a lie makes a bigger problem and causes us not to have a clear conscience."
She listened and asked me for forgiveness. And so I told her I forgive her and we hugged each other in reconciliation.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I encourage you, dear Christian parent, to be reminded of the following scripture and to keep up the good work of correcting your children, the heritage of the Lord. In it is also a good check as to whether we are truly His, because if we are, we would expect chastening of our Lord. Blessings to you!
Hebrews 12:5-11 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Amen.
Posted by: Carol | October 30, 2007 at 08:23 PM