This article.
"And so one of the things that distinguished the early Church from its pagan neighbors was the way it cared for children—all children, both newborns and orphans.
The Christian alternative was summed up in a fourth-century document known as the Apostolic Constitutions. It read “Orphans as well as widows are always commended to Christian love. The bishop is to have them brought up at the expense of the Church and to take care that the girls be given, when of marriageable age, to Christian husbands, and that the boys should learn some art or handicraft and then be provided with tools and placed in a condition to earn their own living . . .”
As believers...I think we would all agree that our role as parents...requires us to train up our children in the ways of the Lord.
We are stewards of their bodies, minds, and souls. We are stewards of their hearts.
Many of us go through a dedication process...standing in front of our church family...expressing our desire & commitment to steward well. And our church families promise to help us in the task of coming alongside and raising up our kids in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. We commit publicly to exposing our children to the gospel on a regular basis. To giving them every opportunity to hear truth and see it modeled in our own homes and in the homes of those we do life with.
When dealing with behavioral and emotional issues...when dealing with sin issues that are problematic...we can be tempted to turn to the world for answers.
The world...if opposed to Biblical teaching...can offer us no true or lasting solutions.
We are not after behavior modification. We are after the Lord's business. And He is after heart transformation.
Are your struggling children in therapy? If so...make sure that they are hearing truth and not some counterfeit.
Are they surrounded by brothers and sisters in the Lord who know them fully and love them fully? If not...they will be looking for love & guidance & and finding it in all the wrong places.
And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.
Mark 12:17
"And so one of the things that distinguished the early Church from its pagan neighbors was the way it cared for children—all children, both newborns and orphans.
The Christian alternative was summed up in a fourth-century document known as the Apostolic Constitutions. It read “Orphans as well as widows are always commended to Christian love. The bishop is to have them brought up at the expense of the Church and to take care that the girls be given, when of marriageable age, to Christian husbands, and that the boys should learn some art or handicraft and then be provided with tools and placed in a condition to earn their own living . . .”
As believers...I think we would all agree that our role as parents...requires us to train up our children in the ways of the Lord.
We are stewards of their bodies, minds, and souls. We are stewards of their hearts.
Many of us go through a dedication process...standing in front of our church family...expressing our desire & commitment to steward well. And our church families promise to help us in the task of coming alongside and raising up our kids in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. We commit publicly to exposing our children to the gospel on a regular basis. To giving them every opportunity to hear truth and see it modeled in our own homes and in the homes of those we do life with.
When dealing with behavioral and emotional issues...when dealing with sin issues that are problematic...we can be tempted to turn to the world for answers.
The world...if opposed to Biblical teaching...can offer us no true or lasting solutions.
We are not after behavior modification. We are after the Lord's business. And He is after heart transformation.
Are your struggling children in therapy? If so...make sure that they are hearing truth and not some counterfeit.
Are they surrounded by brothers and sisters in the Lord who know them fully and love them fully? If not...they will be looking for love & guidance & and finding it in all the wrong places.
And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.
Mark 12:17
2 comments:
I think the biggest challenge to commitment in helping these children comes when the church family offers worldly, rather than godly help. When there is nobody human and godly for the parents to turn to for support, that's when the rubber meets the road for commitment to truth. Adopt, yes. Foster, yes--but be prepared for the loneliness that this journey can bring and remember that only God can sustain your commitment and love in the darkest times.
Becky, yes! When the church turns away and resembles the world...sigh.
However, He never changes. He is our example.
<3 Dawn
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