Author: Tim Challies

One of the most difficult circumstances any family will face is when some love the Lord and others reject him. Sometimes it is Christian parents whose child knowingly rejects and turns away from the faith their parents had taught and modeled. Sometimes it is a Christian spouse who watches their husband or wife reject Christ altogether. Occasionally, it is Christian children who see their mom or dad turn away from the faith they once professed. In any number of ways, families can be divided so that some are for Christ and some are against him. Parents who love the Lord naturally long for their children to do the same. Their “heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1), and rightly so. And so they share the gospel with their kids and earnestly pray for them. But what are they to do when such attempts do not bear immediate fruit? The temptation is to push and to nag, to express a kind of deep-rooted disappointment and to turn every conversation into a plea. Those who do so may soon find they have driven their children away altogether through a noble desire unwisely expressed. Christopher Ash speaks to this and offers a word of counsel. He says, “It is, I think, helpful for parents to remember that their calling is to be parents. That sounds obvious, so let me explain what I mean. A mum or a dad is not the pastor of their son or daughter, or even…See AlsoThe Hard Work Is Done—Family Bible Study Is FunDad, Don’t Shoot Yourself in the FootWhat Do I Say When…?