Duties of Parents (Part II)

I'm loving J.C. Ryle's Duties of Parents.  

 

4. Train with this thought continually before your eyes - that the soul of your child is the first thing to be considered.

The eternal souls of our children should be of greatest interest to us!  We must teach them that the chief end of their lives is the salvation of their souls.  "In every step you take about them, in every plan, and scheme, and arrangement that concerns them, do not leave out that mighty question, "How will this affect their souls?"  Ryle also mentions that training children this way will seem strange to the world - but he who has trained his children for heaven will be called wise in the end.

5. Train your child to knowledge of the Bible.

Only the Holy Spirit can cause our children to delight in God's Word, but we can acquaint them with it.  Ryle writes that children who are well-grounded in the Word tend not to waver or be carried about by the winds of various doctrines.  All other books must take second place in our homes and memorization of the Bible chief priority - even over catechism (Ps. 138:2).  Three things to note about Bible reading according to Ryle: read it all, read it reverently, and read it regularly.  Instruct them of sin, Jesus (& redemption), and the work of the Holy Spirit.

I was convicted after reading this one that my focus has been on the catechism with Aidan and not on Scripture.  So we began with Genesis 1:1 last week.  I was impressed and thankful for how readily and easily he memorized it.  Those young minds are truly like sponges.

6. Train them to a habit of prayer.

Ryle says three main things about prayer:

Prayer is the life-breath of true religion.

Prayer is the one great secret of spiritual prosperity.

Prayer is the mightiest engine God has placed in our hands.

He says that if we truly love our children, we will train them to a habit of prayer.  Show them how.  Encourage them.  Remind them when they slack.  We must help our children develop a healthy, regular prayer life.