"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. "
Hebrews 5:8
LEARNING TO OBEY
Read It: John 8:29b; Ephesians 6:1
Time for a Monday pop quiz. Question one: Who was the only perfect Child? Right, Jesus Christ. Question two, true or false: Jesus never had to learn to obey because He never disobeyed. False? Got it. Luke 2:51 says Jesus lived in "subjection" to His earthly parents. Think about that one and it's pretty staggering. He was Joseph's and Mary's Creator! But He was obedient to them. And in His ministry He was obedient to His heavenly Father. So when Paul tells children to obey their parents "in the Lord," he's on real solid biblical ground. And there's no place I'd rather be to begin two weeks of studies on the topic of Christian parenting than on real solid biblical lical ground. Now if you're a Christian parent today, you may be saying, "Amen, brother, preach it. I want my kids to read this stuff." But as we're going to see over the next two weeks, you've got the big job. It starts right here in Ephesians 6:1, because your instruction must be "in the Lord."
Sometimes we expect our kids to do things that even the Lord Himself wouldn't ask them to do. No, our task as parents is to instruct our children dren in how they ought to live under God's authority. That's key because, remember, even though they will move out from under our authority someday, they will always need to be under God's authority. In fact, this is the first problem we face as parents right here: authority. ity. No one wants to be under anyone's authority. "You ain't my mama. Don't tell me what to do." Problem is, in today's world kids don't want their mamas telling them anything either. We are living in a world of rebellion. The Bible teaches that God is the ultimate authority. But we don't want Him telling us what to do. You say, "That's right. This thing really bothers me. But what can I do to counter this influence with my children?" Well, in these devotional studies we're going to talk about a lot of things you can do. But recognizing the trend and committing yourself to counter it is half the battle. Think About It You cannot be neutral in raising children. They must learn to obey. You must be dedicated to their instruction in godly living.
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