And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Eph. 6:4
I want to talk about the word “admonition” in this scripture. It is fair, though, to also say something about the word “nurture” since it is also mentioned here.
Another word for “nurture” would be foster or develop. When it comes to fostering our children in the ways of the Lord, it is the life of Christ that we carry in us that will help to foster our children in the knowledge of Christ. Christian parents are like an incubator. They incubate their children – in the ways of the Lord. And there is no way you can do this unless you allow them to see Christ through the example of your life.
The second word, “admonition”, talks of warning. We are to warn our children in the ways of the Lord. In other words, we are to speak to our children about God.
It is a good thing to speak to our children about God. Let me give an example to illustrate this. My children, just like all children, love watching TV till the late hours of night. (Actually, we do not have TV, it is the videos they love watching.)
I don’t like it that my children love staying in front of the TV screen until midnight. I have talked to them severally regarding this but, apparently, my talk show has not borne much fruit. They will give this and that excuse and right after, I wake up at night to find them all quietly sitted watching a movie or whatever. If it was those early days they wouldn’t dare do it since I would shut that TV down and send them to bed with a boot to their backsides. But now they have gotten older, and I cannot discipline them in such a manner. Moreover, my going easy with them is my way of showing my appreciation to them for not being such a big headache to me in their teenage years.
Anyways, one Sunday, one of our pastors was preaching in church and he decided to direct his sermon to the youth. He read from Hebrews 12 and talked to them about the value of parental chastening. He told them that parents do it out of love. And he said, “If your parent ever stopped talking to you, or if they ever got tired of admonishing you, that would be the end of you.”
That evening, I was working on my laptop in my room when, at 10 p.m., I heard the lights going off in the sitting room, and I heard doors closing as my children went to their bedrooms. I had forgotten all about the sermon, and I was surprised to see my children going to bed so early? They had recently began watching an exciting new series and every day I would wake up at night to find them glued to the TV screen.
It was then that I recalled the sermon that we had heard that morning. I realized then that my children had quietly taken the pastor’s words to heart, and I was seeing the fruits.
I believe it is good to speak to your children about the Lord. God’s Word is powerful. One day, the words that you speak to them will bear fruit. It might be sooner, or it might take time. But whatever the time-frame, God will respect His Word that you have lovingly planted in your child’s life.
Much of the trouble that we witness coming from children nowadays stems from the fact that parents do not see the importance of “admonishing” their children in the ways of the Lord. In such a scenario, how can you blame the child who has never even heard the name “Jesus” mentioned in his/her home?
Let us be encouraged to talk to our children the words of life. And may we learn to put them in an environment where they will keep hearing these words.
[Three generations of “admonition of the Lord”]