A Parent's G.U.I.D.E., Part 3

January, 2005

by: Brock Bolde

This month we will be covering part 3 of a 5 part series on the importance of being an effective G. U. I. D. E. for your child. Over the last two months we have examined a parent’s need to Govern their child in a manner similar to the way in which Christ shepherds His sheep. In addition to that, we have also looked at a parent’s need to Unveil — that is, their imperative to show their child that they are a sinner in need of a Savior. With these two points firmly rooted, we are now ready to look at the third necessary action that every parent must take — that being the parent’s need to Instruct.

In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, we find the classic text for a parent’s need to Instruct his/her child: “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

These words in and of themselves are very powerful, however, I believe they become even more powerful when we picture them in the context of the Israelites at that time. Take a moment to put yourself in the plains of Moab. Imagine if you would the anticipation of settling down after having wandered around for 40 years. Imagine the excitement that filled the air as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land — “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). Imagine the hush of the people as they strained to listen to their faithful leader, who knew that he would not be going with them, plead with them to remember the faithfulness of Yahweh.

With all that surrounds this great text, it is safe to say that this is perhaps the greatest and foremost commandment for parents everywhere. It seems only fitting that it should ride on the heels of the commandment that Jesus called the “great and foremost commandment” of the law — “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). When we study this commandment we find that instructing our children in accordance to the Word of God is absolutely critical to our effectiveness. Failure to do this renders the remainder of our parenting useless.

Many Christian parents live as modern day atheists in that they fail to properly build into the part of their children that will never die — their souls. J. C. Ryle wrote this:

To pet and pamper and indulge your child, as if this world was all he had to look to, and this life the only season for happiness — to do this is not true love, but cruelty. It is treating him like some beast of the earth, which has but one world to look to, and nothing after death. It is hiding from him that grand truth, which he ought to be made to learn from his very infancy, — that the chief end of his life is the salvation of his soul (p. 9).

If you are to be an effective parent, you must seek to Instruct your child. You must make it a priority to teach your child about the things of God. The key to Deuteronomy 6:6-7 is that it shows parents everywhere who is responsible for the instructing of their child — they are! It also shows them when they are to be instructing their child — all the time! If you are to be an effective parent, then you must make it a point to Instruct your child whenever and wherever you go.

• A Parent's G.U.I.D.E., Part 1
• A Parent's G.U.I.D.E., Part 2
• A Parent's G.U.I.D.E., Part 3
• A Parent's G.U.I.D.E., Part 4
• A Parent's G.U.I.D.E., Part 5