Children-our hope> <Adults-their hope:

Christ-the only Way to Hope

“Our children are our only hope for the future, but we are their only hope for the present and their future.” ¹

It’s up to us–the parents, grandparents, and adults–to give “our” children the tools they need for “the now” and “the then” in their lives. To do this, we must have the necessary knowledge to conduct ourselves in a Godly manner—and then we must live that life before them. The future of the church, our society, our country, and our world depend on what we give to our children, how we teach them, and what we model as their examples.

We don’t need to teach them how to use tools for operating electronic devices, storing data in the cloud, or creating a car from a 3D printer. They can teach us, starting at a very young age. What our children need from us is the vocabulary, knowledge, understanding, and proper usage of these “tools” in life: patience, responsibility, respect, determination, goals, endurance, perseverance through trial, devotion, integrity, a good work ethic, keeping one’s word, priorities, sacrifice, putting others above self, love for one’s family/neighbor/church family, empathy, knowledge and understanding of the Word, practice in living the Word, the importance of placing God above all else, servitude before the Lord, and more.

        “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”²

Christ is the Light, but we must be the mirrored reflection of His example for our children. As He trained us when we were but “babes” still on the “sincere milk of the Word,” ³ so must we teach and lead our children from a young age to follow the right path in order to secure their present and future—and the future of the world they will live in.

Proverbs 22:6 Translations

**(King James) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
**(New International Version) Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
**(The Message) Point your kids in the right direction—when they’re old they won’t be lost. 
** (Good News) Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life.

It’s on our shoulders. We have the responsibility for the present, the world our children see and experience as the preparation and guidance for their future–a future they will mold and shape based on how we trained them, started them off, pointed the way, and taught them how to live.

¹ Ziglar, Zig. Ch 29: “The Success Factor” in Zig Ziglar’s Life Lifters
²Wharton, Edith http://www.brainyquote.com
³ 1 Peter 2:2

(Sharon G. Tate blog 09/27/15) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word