William, only just coming back from a church event, had his children's Bible in his carry bag. He pulled it out and pointed to the front and said "Mummy, Jesus". Now we thought that this was very cute and although he doesn't really understand, he can now identify who Jesus is (Sadly so many more children in the world can identify Ronald McDonald rather than Jesus). My Aunt in reply, and I don't think in anyway milicious, said "You're starting him early."
My question is: Are we?
I have been reading a book called Fatherhood Principle by Dr. Myles Munroe.
Now, this particular chapter discusses what we, as fathers, should be doing with our children. It starts off saying that the word Discipline should never be used in the concept of punishment, and that this is where so many fathers "fail." 'Discipline' comes from the word 'Disciple' meaning "follow and train." This should be us as fathers, correcting children in their behaviour by showing them what they should do, and not just punishing when they go off course. God, in the garden of Eden, gives Adam this very task. He was asked to be the keeper of the garden; he was asked to cultivate.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Genesis 2:15
He wasn't told to dig out the weeds or cut the grass, he was told to work on it and take care of it. In other terms Cultivate.
The same should be used for us, as family, parents and friends. We are meant to help the people around us and cultivate them in the way that God wanted them to be. The problem is that we tend to just be pulling weeds or cutting grass. It doesn't solve the problem, it just hides it for a while.
Recently my dad came round to prune back the rose bush. It was about 6 ft tall. It is now about 3 ft, my dad didn't hack at it, he spent an hour neatly cutting away. Now, I admit when I saw it, I thought he had got carried away, when confronting him his reply was, "now when it blooms it will choose a beautiful path to bloom into". And that, for me, is exactly what God asked Adam to do. That is exactly what we should be doing to one another, steering them in the right direction, and asking that the choices they make to be choices that will please God, most importantly, putting Him central for everything.
So, for that reason, I think the earlier William knows Jesus, and is even willing to explore God with us, the better, so Candy and I will be doing it, in the hope that we, too, cultivate William into the man that we and God want him to be. Even if for the time being it is only us showing him and talking about the characters in his childrens bible, or us putting on his childrens worship CD in the car when we have him, so he can dance about. Us putting God as much as we can to our central family life, I hope we will cultivate William to bloom in his Light.
(On a side note isn't the word Cultivate a fantastic word, God keeps showing me this word in so many ways)
So my question to you is, Are you just pulling out weeds? Are you cutting the trees back because they are blocking the light or because you want them to grow in the light? Are you cultivating around you or just gardening?
2 Timothy 2:19
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Genesis 2:15
He wasn't told to dig out the weeds or cut the grass, he was told to work on it and take care of it. In other terms Cultivate.
The same should be used for us, as family, parents and friends. We are meant to help the people around us and cultivate them in the way that God wanted them to be. The problem is that we tend to just be pulling weeds or cutting grass. It doesn't solve the problem, it just hides it for a while.
Recently my dad came round to prune back the rose bush. It was about 6 ft tall. It is now about 3 ft, my dad didn't hack at it, he spent an hour neatly cutting away. Now, I admit when I saw it, I thought he had got carried away, when confronting him his reply was, "now when it blooms it will choose a beautiful path to bloom into". And that, for me, is exactly what God asked Adam to do. That is exactly what we should be doing to one another, steering them in the right direction, and asking that the choices they make to be choices that will please God, most importantly, putting Him central for everything.
So, for that reason, I think the earlier William knows Jesus, and is even willing to explore God with us, the better, so Candy and I will be doing it, in the hope that we, too, cultivate William into the man that we and God want him to be. Even if for the time being it is only us showing him and talking about the characters in his childrens bible, or us putting on his childrens worship CD in the car when we have him, so he can dance about. Us putting God as much as we can to our central family life, I hope we will cultivate William to bloom in his Light.
(On a side note isn't the word Cultivate a fantastic word, God keeps showing me this word in so many ways)
So my question to you is, Are you just pulling out weeds? Are you cutting the trees back because they are blocking the light or because you want them to grow in the light? Are you cultivating around you or just gardening?
2 Timothy 2:19
19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
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