One Generation Away

There is difference between how you were raised and why you were born. David was raised to be a shepherd but he was born to be king. How many times do we resort to the excuse making of “that’s the way I was raised” so we can excuse our not fulfilling the plan God has for us?

Even though David was not raised or groomed by man to be king;God used his circumstances to develop character and trust. The lion and the bear were smaller conflicts building up to the day of his match with Goliath. This means that in spite of how we are raised God will break through and be involved with the destiny of a person if they merely remain yielding and obedient.

However, That’s Not To Excuse Parents From Fulfilling Their Responsibilities 
 
We as parents are to raise our children into being moral reflections of God’s Word. Parents have the greatest responsibility in the world.

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
⁶  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The word “train” means to

• initiate
• discipline
• structure and form as a building
• construct 

“The way” is referring to the way of wisdom which is submission to the Lord. The question is – who’s responsibility is it?
First we must understand that children are born with no

• Values
• Morals
• Love for others
• concept of others not to be used for one’s own satisfaction

This sounds harsh but it is the truth. Children are born in sin and so instinctively they are debased in attitudes and thought. Children cannot be left to themselves or their generation will become extinct from the total depravity imploding them out of existence. We are always one generation from total chaos and barbarism.

The parents have a huge responsibility to mold, shape, and change them, or the next generation will be barbaric.  The only reason success and the perpetuation of the human race continues is because of the previous generation fulfilling its responsibilities.

New Converts Need The Same Principle of Parenting

1 Corinthians 4:15 (KJV)
¹⁵ For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

The church is one generation away from no authentic connection with God. Though young converts have been born with a new nature, a new inclination and tendencies, that doesn’t mean they are to be left to themselves. Their life which is compared to a building needs to be constructed and formed. Yes, their decisions ultimately have the last say, but like children, they need the parent to lay out the blueprint and design of what is expected.

There are always exceptions to the rule which is rare, but the norm is that parents are the ones who form, shape, and construct the life, into that which the Spirit can lead and carry the legacy through them.

I can’t give what I don't possess. I cant instill values in my child if i don't possess them. I must first be in possession of the things needed to impart into the child.

Jude 1:12 (KJV)
¹² These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Nothing worse than someone saying they have something they don’t! How many parents demand a standard out of their children that they themselves do not adhere to. When a person speaks something their life doesn’t back up – what’s said loses impact. It can also create an atmosphere of rebellion. Why? What’s said or demanded is spoken in rebellion since the speaker is not listening to it either.

Let’s be

• authentic
• responsible
• willing
• involved

Let’s present the next generation the best possible opportunity to go beyond we ever thought or dreamed of. In other words, be ready to work, but God said our labor will be rewarded. How? By another generation carrying the torch of the Gospel and representing Him in all things.