Preserving godly seed in this world is precarious, at best. Right from the Garden of Eden, we nearly lost the godly line when Cain killed Abel. Angels held their breath until Seth was born because there was no godly line to replace Abel there for awhile. And angels held their breath again when all but Noah were wiped off the earth. The godly seed YOU raise is terribly important. A frail godly thread hangs in the balance over the entire earth and your child is in that line. This must be your first, and last, obsession. It is your highest call to raise a holy child for the Kingdom, as well as for the child's own soul.
While the enemy occupies us with academic anxieties over Greek gods (demons), he prowls around to take the spirits of our children. Keep your focus on the "worship factor" in your children. What are they starting to worship? Movie actors? Rock stars? What posters and pictures are going up in their rooms? What are they listening to? Watching? Talking about? Be too busy with godly pursuits to let this worldliness gain any head of steam in their lives in the first place. Let Bible reading, serving real needs in the real world, gaining life skills of all sorts, and running home based businesses occupy those hours, instead. Is their devotion to the one true God secure? How much do they love Him? What can you do to raise the spiritual bar in your child in the few short years of influence that you have with him? Is his affection for God locked-in, rock sure? Where does your child run emotionally in his spare moments? What reading does he prefer? How does he use his discretionary time?
There is no downside to raising a godly child. Holy children don't rebel. Holy children internalize your values—they have no reason to rebel. They love the God you love as ardently as you do, or more so. They enlarge heaven and enlarge righteousness upon the earth, while they wait for heaven. They don't get side-tracked. They cause no trouble. They waste no life. Their very presence and their choices glorify God while they walk among the sons of men. They are content. They are cheerful. They are selfless. They are mature before their time, as Timothy was.
Most of us as parents are preoccupied—we are chasing the wrong ball—in the wrong ball park—playing the wrong game. The "game" of life is to "glorify God and to enjoy Him forever" (Westminster Catechism) and to raise godly seed to do the same. Until our children are ambitiously doing that, under their own gumption, without us, even when we aren't looking, we have work to do. If all we do is focus on secular academics, we could raise an intelligent murderer. Our grief will know no end if we worship academics only, but our joy can know no bounds if we groom the spirit to adore the living God. Take up your child, steward him in holiness, and return him to His Maker—just like Hannah did with Samuel.
For more, read our eBook on How to Cultivate a Lasting Love of the Bible in Your Children.
