Daily Devotional, Sept 20, 2023 Raising a godly man
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4
As mothers, we have the privilege to shape the future of our children. What we inculcate in their minds have the power to mold their view of life, and how they conduct themselves. While this may be a double-edged sword since we are bound to make mistakes, this truth can be seen as a good opportunity to help in raising a better generation.
As a mother of a boy, one of my main goals in life is to raise a godly son. No it is not like I will coerce him to enter the seminary to be a priest or a pastor, but I want him to grow up wanting to be like Jesus. As they say, the main goal of Christian parenting is to raise Christ-like children, and I believe it is never too early to start building on this “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children” (Isaiah 54:13)
The world we live in though makes this a challenging feat. It has always been that way, even in Jesus’ time. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul encouraged the church to not abide by worldly principles instead focus on living God’s will their lives: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). We Christians are being called to live a life that counterflows to what the world dictates — the unfortunately perverted world that our children will inherit.
So in these times when even supposed learned authorities could not define basic truths, and in the world where everyone encourages people to live a life on one’s own volition, and seek oneself in everything, we mothers should band together in raising godly men who can lead families and communities to Christ Jesus. Let us heed God’s timeless commands in raising virtuous children: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
This would be easier though if good examples are present in each family. But what if our child does not have a godly father, or godly male role models in his life? Well, we can always point our sons to Christ. We should take it upon ourselves to impress Jesus’ words, His life, and His commands to our children day in and day out “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
We should expose our sons to what is genuinely beneficial for them and make them understand that even if what they think and do does not seem popular, it will make them better people as their inheritance is in the Kingdom of God. Let us not train them to become worldly, and we can do this best by setting a good example. By stopping our own addiction to worldly things such as shopping, covetousness, indulgence, comfort and convenience seeking ways, and self-idolatry through immense social media addiction, we get to show our children how it is to really live. If we show them that we live for Christ, and we try to show His love to other people then they will naturally soak it up and live that kind of life too.
There is no magic formula to it, but raising godly sons takes a lot of spiritual and self discipline on our part. We ourselves have to genuinely enjoy living a godly life so that we can unconsciously yet effectively model such lifestyle to our children.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Psalm 127:3-5 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: How are you raising your children? If they were to live by example, are you setting a good one for them so they could live a Christ-filled life?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, I praise and thank you for the privilege of parenthood. Strengthen my mind and soul to raise godly children, who will walk with you as they journey here on earth. Amen.
