Loaves & Fishes 27

left to themselves when they
were young. I had some major
things to deal with after I was
converted. For instance, I was
lazy and didn’t like to work hard.
After I was born again, I had to
deal with this sin. I faced it many
times until it was totally rooted
out of my life.
If we neglect training our
children, we place a heavy burden
on them that they have to
drag along with them. Yes, God
will help them. Yes, God will
set them free. Yes, God can give
them victory over every one
of these sins. God can change
every character flaw in their
lives as the life of Jesus is manifested
in their flesh. But it is so
much easier for a child coming
to conversion who was trained
according to the Bible pattern.
Such a child gets converted and
takes off running for the glory
of God.
Some of the verses we have
addressed take on new meaning
when we look at them in the
light of these diagrams. “A child
left to himself brings shame to
his mother.”
Again, “Train up a child in the
way he should go; even when he
is old he will not depart from it.”
And one more, “If you strike
him with the rod, you will save
his soul from Sheol [hell].”
The process of
sanctification will
be much harder for
children who were left
to themselves.
Do you see it? Our children
are not yet converted, but we
are responsible to train their
souls and their bodies, looking
forward to the day when they
will give their hearts to God and
be converted.
May God renew our vision
and help us to see, “I have a child
from the Lord.” God Himself
places them one by one into our
hands. We must realize, “Here is
a living soul given into our care.
God wants to possess this vessel
someday.” For every one of our
children, let’s consider each of
the four areas in the diagram:
the mind, the will, the emotions,
and the body. All the teaching
given so far covers these four
areas of a child’s person.
Loaves & Fishes • Issue 27 | 35