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Training Our Children for Christ, July 22
And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be
the peace of thy children.
Isaiah 54:13
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Children and youth are to be taught that their capabilities were given
them for the honor and glory of God. To this end they must learn the
lesson of obedience, for only by lives of willing obedience can they render
to God the service He requires....
Parents who truly love Christ will bear witness to this in a love for
their children that will not indulge, but will work wisely for their highest
good. These children have been bought with a price. Christ sacrificed His
life that He might redeem them from wrongdoing. Parents who appreciate
the sacrifice Christ and the Father have made in behalf of the race will
cooperate with them, lending every sanctified energy and ability to the
work of saving their children. Instead of treating them as playthings,
they will regard them as the purchase of Christ, and will teach them that
they are to become the children of God. Instead of allowing them to
indulge evil temper and selfish desires, they will teach them lessons of
self-restraint.
As parents and children cooperate in seeking to reach God’s ideal
for them, strength and blessing will come into their lives; and joy and
satisfaction will fill the hearts of parents when they see, as the fruit of their
labors, their children growing up in the love of the truth and endeavoring
to reach the fullness of God’s purpose for them.
He desires to see gathered out from the homes of our people a large
company of youth who, because of the godly influences of their homes,
have surrendered their hearts to Him and go forth to give Him the highest
service of their lives. Directed and trained by the godly instruction of the
home, the influence of the morning and evening season of worship, the
consistent example of parents who love and fear God, they have learned to
submit to God as their teacher and leader, and they are prepared to render
Him acceptable service.... Such youth are prepared to represent to the
world the grace and power of Christ....
Would you help other families to use their God-given talents to His
glory? Then reveal in your own lives conformity to the image of Christ.
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