Train up a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6)

 Train up a child in the way he should go

 

 

 

 

“Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

 

 

               I heard about the news that there was an explosion at a train station in North Korea.  As a result, it is known that there are many casualties.  I heard that a lot of people are in danger of blindness because of the tremendous post-busting and glass debris, causing serious eye injuries.  Especially, I heard the unfortunate news that most of the children injured at a near elementary hurt their eyes.  The poet Kim Yong-taek, who had heard the unfortunate news of the children, said in his poem "Yongchun Elementary School": ‘... the children of Ryongchon!  You children who are like new grass leaf from the ground !  You who lost your school, your friends, your homes and your parents and siblings, you whose faces were burned by fire.  Ah!  Ah!  Sudden death, suffering, sorrow, cold, hunger, what must we do with these fears.  What must I do now …’

 

              I was challenged by his saying ‘What must I do now.’  There are so many times in our lives that we don’t know what to do when we look at the sad reality.  Especially, when we look at our children whose spiritual eyes are injured and they are in a crisis of spiritual blindness, we as parents cannot but help to ask ourselves ‘What must I do?’  The sadder reality is that we are spiritually blinded as well as our children so that now the blind parents are leading the blind children (Mt. 15:14).  So based on Proverbs 22:6, I want to meditate on three things that we should teach our children.

 

              First, we should teach our children the Right Value.

 

We should look back our lives to see whether we are showing our children what is truly valuable or not.  Is it faith?  Do we think that our children are seeing in our family lives that faith is very precious?  Or aren’t we busy living with the values of the world that God hates (Lk. 16:15)?  The Bible says “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6:21).  What is that "treasure" that we value?  We must listen carefully the word of Matthew that where our treasure is, there is our heart.  The person who had the right values was Moses.  Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasure of Egypt (Heb. 11:26).  Who likes to suffer?  Isn’t it our instinct to love treasure?  But Moses, by faith, regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as greater value than treasure of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward (v. 26).  We should teach this value to our children.

 

               Second, we should teach Clear Purpose to our children.

 

Too many of our children are wondering and wasting their lives for no apparent purpose of their lives.  They run about in confusion, not knowing what to do.  With the wrong purposes of their lives, they are wasting God’s time.  Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 1 says “What is the chief end of man?”  The answer is “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” (Internet).  But how many of us are trying to live for the glory of God and are enjoying him?  Aren’t we rather burdened by God?  Don’t we feel burdened even serving the Lord's church?  We must learn the Daniel's clear purpose and show to our children.  Look at Daniel 1:8 – “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.”  Although it was a good opportunity in the worldly perspective, he chose not to eat the king’s choice food and drink his wine because he was pursuing the clear objective purpose, God's holiness.  He was able to overcome his circumstance because he lived his life that was driven by his determination not to defile himself.  Won’t God be delighted to see our children resolved not to defile themselves with the worldly things but pursue God’s holiness?

 

              Third and last, we should teach our children the Eternal View of Life.

 

                Too many of our children are committing suicide without considering God's precious gift of life.  What a sad reality?  Why do they take their own precious life?  It is because they don’t have eternal view of life.  It is because they have lost the will of life.  The reason is because there is no hope in eternal kingdom, heaven.  This world cannot give us hope.  This world cannot give us hope to live a day.  In this vain and futile world, we have no hope.  But the eternal comfort that is given to us in Jesus Christ is the eternal life.  This is what Apostle James said in James 4:14 – “…  What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  Although our life is like the midst, why are we living now as if we will live on this land forever?  Those without deep meditation and prayer for death cannot say that they have an eternal view of life.  The reason is because only those who think about the gate of death look at the gate of eternal kingdom.  While living in this land, Apostle Paul looked upon the eternal kingdom and preached the gospel to all souls who were his joy and crown.  He said to the Philippian church saints that they were his joy and crown (Phil. 4:1).  Those who have many joy and crown, the fruit of their beautiful life at the end of their life, is a beautiful people who have eternal view of life and devote their whole life to eternal souls.  We have to show and teach this to our children.

 

            Like a poet, who thought about the children of Ryongchon Elementary School in North Korea who lost their sights, and said ‘What must I do now?’, we must look at our children whose are spiritually blinded and ask ourselves ‘What must I do now?’  And as we pray in our struggles, we must find the answer in the Word of God.  We must instill right value, clear purpose, and eternal view of lie to our children.  Now, what will you do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living with correct values, clear goals, and an eternal perspective in mind, when you think of the beloved brothers and sisters in the cherished arms of our longed-for Lord in the eternal kingdom,

 

 

 

 

James Kim

(A day before Children's Sunday)