“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. Ezekiel 18:19-20 (NIV)
This has been a difficult passage for me to digest - not because the message is quite complicated. It's not. It's because I, as a mother of five, have put so much of my heart and soul into my children that I cannot comprehend that their own choices (whether to choose Christ and live for Him or not) is out of my hands and in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
As Godly parents, we spend many years teaching our children the Word of God. We take them to church and Sunday school. We take them to Wednesday evening programs (Caravan, Pioneer Clubs, etc.) in the hopes and strong belief that they will be Christians serving the Lord when they mature. Perhaps they'll even become missionaries or preachers!
Then they grow up and one or two of them slip away from what we've taught them. Maybe they haven't even left the faith but are dangling their toes into the worldly waters. Maybe they never embraced Jesus Christ to start with.
Somehow, some way, it has to be our faults. We did something wrong. Maybe we didn't live out our Christianity as we are supposed to.
Fellow parents and mothers in particular: Some kids go about things the hard way. Some kids will never stray and will be those model Christians from the get-go. Others will backslide to come back later as more mature believers who will change the world with their strong testimonies of deliverance. And some will never believe.
It's their choice, not ours. Our job is to raise them with the knowledge and love of Christ. We are to share with them and teach them in love. And when they rebel, our job is to love them but never enable them in their sins. When we administer that horrifying "tough love", we do so for their good. They'll never see God for who He is unless we get out of the way and allow them to see His face. If we're blocking the light with our interference (because we're afraid to let go and watch them get hurt), we will then take the blame - as I believe the Bible teaches.
Parents, let me encourage you to pray daily for your children, even before any problems arise. Pray for their future spouses as well. Move into action when the Spirit of God instructs you to. And love those children without turning into jelly when they need you to be strong.
3 comments:
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I translated this (with computer help) from Turkish to English:
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Very well written and said!
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