The Hands We Hold

 

 

 

Something I was reading the other day started me thinking about the hands we hold.

When your child puts their hand in yours, it may be filthy from making mud pies, or smelly from patting the dog or sticky from eating an ice cream, but it is a hand belonging to a child who you have the responsibility of training. A life to mold. A hand that is trusting you to show the way.

Proverbs 22:15 “Train up a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

This doesn't just mean raising an obedient child, but raising a responsible adult. We, as parents have the amazing and fearful task of instilling Godly values into our children and

teaching them life skills that will help

 them as they grow older.

Teaching them the importance of hard work. Teaching them what the Bible says on all subjects and guiding them through life, protecting them but not sheltering

them from lessons they may learn along the way.

The hands we hold are hands of the future. These are hands that will hold a Bible or an ungodly magazine. Hands that will raise in praise or raise in anger. Hands that will serve God or serve the Devil. Hands that will be gentle or harsh. Hands that will work hard or be lazy.

Hands that will help, or hands that will harm.

What an awesome responsibility we have! So many Christian parents are choosing to walk away from the Bible as the best child training manual ever written, and are turning to worldly wisdom.

1 Corinthians 1:20b

“........hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”

1 Corinthians 3:19a “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God”

God sees the world's wisdom as foolishness.

God's way is always best.

What are we doing with the hands God has given into our trust? Are we choosing to ignore them when they reach out to us? Are we teaching them laziness by our example? Are we teaching them to be greedy? Do we train them to be hard workers, not giving up when things get hard? Are we teaching them what it means to serve others with no thought of reward? Do we teach them

to use their talents for the Lord?

Hands can be used for many things, good or bad.

We only hold our childrens' hands for a little while, so the time for training is very short.

As parents, God has given these precious lives

into our charge and we have the blessing of training the future generation.

Don't take lightly the lives that belong

 to the hands you hold.