By Stuart Briscoe | Minister at Large for Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wis., and a contributing editor of Preaching
Kids need pruning! Just leave them to it and they’ll grow all right; but if they’re not disciplined and not loved and not carefully instructed, and if they are not protected and directed and inspected, there’s a possibility they will produce thorns.
God is looking for godly offspring—God kids! Listen, this is not intended to be “a guilt-inducing talk.” Remember, “Ideals are like stars, we seldom reach them, but we steer by them.” These are the ideals that God is looking for, and that’s what we need to steer by. You are not going to produce perfection even if you work on protection, direction and inspection. That doesn’t mean to say, “We don’t know what we’re aiming for!”
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No doubt, I’m talking to some people today and you are saying, “You know, Stuart, in all honesty, I think we made
a reasonable attempt to give our kids direction, and I think we tried to live consistently before them; but they are miles away now! They are nowhere near being ‘God kids’!” Well, let me remind you of something: you are not responsible for the decisions that your kids make. You are responsible to give them the tools to make responsible decisions. You are responsible to give them a clear understanding of the options that are open to them. You are responsible to make absolutely certain that they have a clear-cut understanding of what the Christian faith is all about. Then it is up to them, and the decisions are theirs!
Also, remember this: If some of you are thinking to yourself,
Well, I failed in my marriage, I’m responsible for a divorce, I have gone through situations where I’ve been unfaithful, and I’ve broken the covenant, let me remind you that failure is not final.
God is able and willing to forgive us, if we’ll admit our sin and turn from our sin and say, “Lord, I come from You, I live through You, I want to live for You!” And He will say, “Good, you are my man,” or “You are my woman, and I’m your God.” Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Go to your family and work on your kids; produce something that blooms and produces perfume, and not thorns!
