The Baton (Part 2)

The Baton (part two)

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise:"that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4 (NKJV)

Like I said in part one, my Pastor had given me a chapter to read from the book, Already Gone. It is entitled, “Sunday School Syndrome.” It discusses a study done on the belief system of today’s 20-somethings who had attended Sunday school regularly. I, myself, had gone to CCD classes on Sundays in the Catholic Church and was caviler about God’s Word. I remember it not being enforced in our home while growing up. The Bible wasn’t mentioned and from what I saw, it wasn’t being preached in action either.

I had been asked to give a devotional at a recent Men’s Breakfast at my church and I thought this was a subject that the men, and their sons, needed to hear. The study was steeped in facts and figures to support the notion that Sunday school needed a radical makeover. So I went to my resources to see where it says in Scripture that Men of God need statistics to bring us into God’s will. Here is what my Nelson’s Study Bible says about the verse I have used today.

“This paragraph has the beautiful balance we expect to find in God's Word: children are to obey their parents, and parents are to treat their children in such a way that the children will want to obey. Children must obey their parents for Christ's sake, even if their parents are not believers. This is supported by the only one of the Ten Commandments followed by a promise.
Four reasons are given why they should obey. First, it is right. It is a basic principle built into the very structure of family life that those who are immature, impulsive, and inexperienced should submit to the authority of parents, who are older and wiser.

The second reason is that it is scriptural. Here Paul quotes Exodus 20:12: Honor your father and mother (see also Deut. 5:16). This command to honor parents is the first of the Ten Commandments with a specific promise of blessing attached to it. It calls for children to respect, love, and obey their parents.

The third reason is that it is for the best interests of the children: that it may be well with you. Think of what would happen to a child who received no instruction and no correction from his parents! He would be personally miserable and socially intolerable.

The fourth reason is that obedience promotes a full life: and you may live long on the earth. In the OT, a Jewish child who obeyed his parents did enjoy a long life. In this Gospel Age, it is not a rule without exceptions. Filial obedience is not always connected with longevity. A dutiful son may die at an early age. But it is true in a general way that the life of discipline and obedience is conducive to health and longevity, whereas a life of rebellion and recklessness often ends prematurely.

The instructions to children are now balanced with advice to fathers. They should not provoke their children to anger with unreasonable demands, with undue harshness, with constant nagging. Rather children should be nurtured in the training and admonition of the Lord. Training means discipline and correction, and may be verbal or corporal. Admonition means warning, rebuke, reproof. Child-training should be "in the Lord," that is, carried out in accordance with His will as revealed in the Bible by one who acts as His representative.”

So after I went into what was researched by the author of the chapter that Pastor had given to me to review, I walked away with the notion that Sunday school needs to be in our homes as well as in our churches. Men need to be reading their Bibles with their families, discussing what is being read and equipping their children today to be able to be defenders of the faith tomorrow. Right now, the Church of God has outside influence by people who would have us fall away from God’s original purpose for His church and fall into this “feel good about ourselves” mentality. A place of empty promises and no conviction of spirit, not being taken to the fire to be refined, no bringing God the glory He deserves.

In the book, Straight Talk: What Men need to Know, What Women Should Understand, Dr. James C. Dobson makes this brilliant point: “This mission of introducing one’s children to the Christian faith can be likened to a three-man relay race. First, your father runs his lap around the track, carrying a baton, which represents the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the appropriate moment, he hands the baton to you, and you begin your journey around the track. Then finally the time will come when you must get the baton safely into the hands of your child. But as any track coach will testify, relay races are won or lost in the transfer of the baton. There is a critical moment when all can be lost by a fumble or miscalculation. The baton is rarely dropped on the back side of the track when the runner has it firmly in his grasp. If failure is to occur, it will likely happen in the exchange between generations!”

You know, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, because I don’t want to be standing at the gates of Heaven trying to explain to the Creator what I could done better when it was my time to pass the Baton. I hope your transferring abilities are at the ready. -- Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 22; Ecclesiastes 10-12; Galatians 1

Great Quote: I've been clutching filthy rags, thinking they would please God, and have been unable to grasp the pure, eternal, perfect righteousness of God that is mine. -- Mary Morrison Suggs

It is not to late to enjoy a day of golfing fun and fellowship at Hanover Golf Club on September 29, 2009 to benefit the Colony of Mercy Addiction Recovery Ministry of America’s Keswick. We will have a 7:30 AM and a 12:30 PM shotgun start. There are still some openings for either start time. Call Stan Marsh @ 1-800-453 7942 x 32 for info or to make your reservation.