Train!

Train!

Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 AMP

The Context and Focus:

Let no one be distracted by the personal life of the man who wrote these words. King Solomon is attributed with writing the words of the verse above. He was a man blessed with so much wisdom and wealth, simply because he asked God for the right kind of wisdom. God gave him all he asked for, along with things he didn't even ask for at the time. As you read the words of Proverbs, you see the hand of the divine at work. The words penned down in this book provide a roadmap into God's plan for mankind. This is God: with an eye on the future and the eternal, he wants to shape my present to fit into his plans. He wants to take the mess of my yesterday and turn it into a message today and tomorrow. He wants to take the baggage of my past and turn it into a burden for the souls of men today and tomorrow. However, one thing he will not do is force his will on me, or compel me to do what I don't want to do. I must come to Him of my own freewill, and take him up on his offer of salvation and redemption, and having submitted, take on his code of conduct, rules and regulations. 

The Message:

The importance of generational impact is not lost in today's verse. God does not do anything of note that starts and ends with only one man. Even the death and resurrection of Jesus has led millions to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. Recall the words of God to Abraham, the model of faith even to us today. God said he was very sure of Abraham, that he would bring up his children to fear and honour God. Is it then a wonder that God entered into a covenant to bless Abraham and his seed after him? For everyone who would experience God in the same way, we have this example, as well as several others, to choose from. There is individual responsibility, but there is also generational accountability. What I do today is a mirror of what I should expect tomorrow. No amount of fasting and prayer can ordinarily change the seed of maize into the fruit of oranges, unless God just wants to prove a point. His Word already makes it clear that whatever a man sows is what he reaps. If this is true in the physical, it will also be true in the spiritual. What kind of seed am I preparing to put into the ground? 

The Conclusion:

To train up a child in the right way, it makes an assumption that you also know the right way. What would I spend time on with a child if I do not have the right tools and information to properly prepare that child for all that is ahead? How do I prepare a child for trials and tough times that will certainly come, if i am always protecting the child from all that could teach the child valuable lessons? There is a popular saying: 'A man cannot give what he does not have. You cannot force or compel behaviour or action that you have not first come to believe in. Hypocrisy and eye-service would soon be recognized; time has a fumy way of revealing what is not properly done. As I pay the price today, I lay the right foundation for tomorrow. Lessons learnt today become the guide for tomorrow. Discipline imbibed today become the peace that guard the heart tomorrow. Never despise small beginnings, as they are the seeds for a blessed future, if the lessons are well learnt. Every society is built from the contributions of families, so I must be deliberate about the quality of the seed I am planting today, because at some point, I may need to eat the fruit. Would I like the fruit of whatever I am sowing today? God's time of favour is here.