I was 20 years old when I became a father. I was young, dumb, and woefully unprepared. When my wife and I took our son home, we sat down and looked at each other. A wave of mixed emotions passed over us: joy, bewilderment, and panic. We were overjoyed at God’s gift of a healthy baby boy. We were a little surprised that they would send two twenty-year-olds home with a baby and no instruction manual. And we were panicking because it was starting to dawn on us that we were now responsible for a tiny human, a little image-bearer. As I’ve talked with parents over the years, most have admitted to having had similar experiences.
I once heard someone say that parents have been given the job of “shepherding their children toward eternity.” I can’t remember who said it, but I’ve never forgotten the words. So, how can the church prepare parents to care for their children’s souls?
Let me suggest four ideas.
1. Rejoice in new life and growing families.
The Psalmist writes, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the
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