I suppose every parent here today can relate to the question, at some point, what does the future hold for my child? In fact most parents worry about it more than our children do.
It’s kind of like the story of the father that came home one day and found out his child had been watching TV all day and he said to them if you are ever going to amount to anything in your life you are going to have to get your face out of the TV set. When Abraham Lincoln was your age he chopped wood all day and did his chores. The child looked up at the father and said Yep and when he was your age he was President!
Parents in the Bible believed that there was something that they could do that would profoundly impact the lives of their children, it was called a blessing. Each child was given a general blessing and the firstborn was given a special blessing. How important was this blessing to them? We all know the story of Isaac giving a blessing to his sons Jacob and Esau. As we remember Esau was the firstborn and was to receive the firstborn’s blessing, but Jacob deceived his father.
Genesis 27:24-34 (NKJV)
24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”
25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
“Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed.
28 Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s son’s bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!”
30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”
32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”
So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father
I feel that this world needs to wake up and recognize the need of every child to receive a blessing. God designed us to live under a blessing, and that’s how we function best. Jesus recognized that and demonstrated His knowledge of the genuine need for children to be blessed. Remember when the little children were trying to come to Jesus and the Disciples thought He was too busy to be interrupted by these children and their problems.
Mark 10:13-16 (NIV)
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
All God’s children want to know that their parents believe in them, that they have a future, that they are loved and special.
Genesis 1:27-28 (NIV)
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
It was God’s original plan that we live under blessing. What’s happening in America today is that many children are not living under a blessing, they are living under a curse, under the weight of sin that has been passed down from generation to generation, not the sin itself but the result and the consequences of it. Each person here today has a special part in shaping the lives of our young people in a positive way! I want to suggest some things that we can do to impact and empower our children.
We need to make the time to talk to our children. When we talk there is tremendous power in words!
Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
We need to let our children know that we are proud of them. We need to brag about them and praise them and not only when they are not around, but let them hear us.
We need to build up our children’s self-esteem nothing is as fragile as a young person’s self- image. Imagine what a child feels like when the people they trust the most attack them. The Bible never speaks of disciplining children with words, it does mention a rod. Proverbs 13:24
You big dummy! You’re never going to amount to anything, you’re lazy!
How would you feel if they lived up to those expectations of them?
Our children need to realize they have great potential and value. We must love our children for who they are and that is exactly the way God shows his love for us.
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God has painted a picture of our future and what it holds.
John 14:2-3 (NKJV)
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
God is saying to all of his children, I know what your future holds and I have something special in store for you, HEAVEN!
Gangs were so bad at Glen Oaks High School in Indianapolis, Indiana that they had to cancel all the extracurricular activities, football, basketball, cheerleading because it was just not safe. The principle ran across a very interesting idea. He called a bunch of the dads together and asked if they would be SECURITY DADS. These dads attended all the schools functions and through these efforts order was restored just by getting Dads involved.
During a class for high school students I taught many years ago I asked them to describe for me with one word your mom and dad. There were responses like involved, discipline, firm, fun, but there was one response that I could hardly wait to see what it was. The one answer from my son was overcaring (The action of caring too much). What word would your children use to describe you? Let us thank and pray to God for Christian parents, grandparents and families who are involved in their children lives who have fun with them, but yet not lacking discipline, simply those that care too much rather than those who care too little.
Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Ephesians 6:4 - And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
The Greatest Blessing we could ever give our children is to raise them up in a Christian home where there is love and understanding introducing them to Jesus.
The baby is teething. The children are fighting. Your husband just called and said, “Eat dinner without me.” One of these days you’ll explode and shout to the kids, “Why don’t you grow up and act your age?” And they will.
Or, “You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do. And don’t slam the door!” And they don’t. You’ll straighten their bedrooms all neat and tidy, toys displayed on the shelf, hangers in the closet, animals and stuffies caged. You’ll yell, “Now I want it to stay this way!” And it will.
You will prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn’t had all the olives picked out and a cake with no finger traces in the icing and you’ll say, “Now THIS is a meal for company.” And you will eat it alone.
You’ll say, “I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around, Silence! Do you hear?” and you’ll have it.
No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti, no more anxious nights with a vaporizer, no more dandelion bouquets, no more iron-on patches, wet, knotted shoestrings.
No babysitters, washing clothes only once a week, no parent meetings, carpools, no handmade Christmas presents.
No more wet oatmeal kisses.
No more tooth fairy, giggles in the dark, or knees to heal.
Only a voice crying, “Why don’t you grow up?” and the silence echoing,
“I did”
"Wet Oatmeal Kisses" by Erma Bombeck
Don’t spend all your time getting the mortgages paid, the grass cut, the laundry folded that we forget Today is the only day that God has promised us ,this very minute!
There may not be a tomorrow. Why not take the time now to give a blessing to your family.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Do you have God’s blessing, the hope of an eternal life, have you received the remission from your sins, why do you wait?
