Parental Blindness

“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? Luke 6:39

 

Eyes that can’t see, futile thinking, hard hearts, and stiff necks.

God has several ways He describes people who have been given the Light of the scriptures but continue to refuse to see it or walk according to God’s instructions. These people appear never to have really understood the gospel, they are not God’s children.

Then, there are those, like me sometimes, who know God, who study His word, but continue to have a blind spot or two (or three!) until we wake up to the truth one day wondering how we ever missed it! I tend to live in the here and now. I know what is coming up on my schedule and I plan for it – but I cannot concentrate on the next event until the current one is over.

As my children were young I was really only concerned about their behavior for the day. As I was trying to teach them I was not thinking about how it might affect the next generation. I wanted them to behave so they would not embarrass me, and so they would do well in school, and their Sunday School teachers would think, “Wow, what great parents these kids must have.”

A few years ago as I was studying and teaching the book of Exodus I was struck by how important generational thinking was to God and His most prominent servants, like Moses.  Moses,  knowing he would not ever see the Promised Land that God had given the Israelites, was determined to continue to lead them and teach them and pray for them in all of their rebellion, because it was going to make a big difference to the next generations. He was working toward the goal of securely settling God’s people in the land He had chosen for them, where they would be under His protective covering.

Over the last few weeks my husband and I have been leading a parenting class. We are using a set of Paul Tripp video’s called, “Getting to the Heart of Parenting.” We have been repeatedly reminded that it is not just for our own kudos or comfort that we want to teach our children. The most important thing we can do for them is to raise them up to love God so they will raise the next generation to love God.

And in that series was a lesson I’ve been blind to.

Tripp emphasizes the importance of parents’ continually pointing their children to the greatness of God.  We must instill how good God is, how kind in His compassion, and how generous in His provision.  He is a loving God who shows His people mercy and grace.

If, as parents, we are quick to tell a child that God will not like, in fact will judge and correct, his/her breaking of His commandments, but they have no appreciation for how great God is, why would they care if He is happy with them or not? In the early years of a child’s life they need to be given a desire to please God. They will only want to please the One who they know and love.

In short, we must give them the “High View” of God.

I am sure that I often expressed how beautiful things in nature were to me. I know this because some of those things are a big joke now, like the way I would gasp when I saw a hill covered with beautiful mountain pink! (You can only imagine the way a teenager would mock that after hearing it many times.) What I do not think I did, and want to encourage others to do, is to point out the One who has given us such beauty. He is also the One who has provided foods in delicious flavors, inch worms, and butterflies. He is the One who created the bonding of mother and child, the oneness of husband and wife, the quietness under the trees along a lake, and the love He demonstrates in the joy and peace He offers us. He gave us sunrises and sunsets, from land and sea. He gave us rainbows, friendships, and the abilities we have to think, read, and understand.

When we love someone we tell others. If we want our kids to be friends with the neighbors kids we invite them over and encourage them to get to know one another. Are we pointing the next generation to these attributes and gifts of God so they will get to know the goodness of God and point it out to the next generation?

God’s kingdom is forever. Will our families be there for subsequent generations because of our teaching to this one?