My wife and I recently welcomed our second son into the world so I've had plenty of time to spent watching and reflecting upon our children the past few weeks.  There are so many lessons we can learn from our children, their behavior and our relationship with them.  I think it worth while to share some of these thoughts with you and hope you will enjoy them.

Babies

Infants are precious beyond belief but sometimes more frustrating than words can express.  They are one of the most treasured of all blessings given by God.  Babies have strong desires but can do very little themselves.  They desire to be fed and cared for and so we must selflessly tend to their needs to make sure they grow and are healthy.  Spritually when we are "babes in Christ" we need to be gently fed and nourished to become strong "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" (1 Peter 2:2 KJV)  So we need the help of God, His Word and our spiritually older and wiser brothers and sisters in Christ to help us in the delicate stage of spiritual infancy.

Growth and Teaching

As we grow, we take on solid foods and we begin to be able to be more independent.  We begin to feed ourselves although we may accidently cause a spill.  We learn to do new things and pick up habits that can last a lifetime.  Our oldest son has just learned to pick his toys up and put his dirty clothes away.  He didn't just discover how to do these things but was instead taught patiently over time.  The Bible instructs us in how to raise our children.  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. "(Proverbs 22:6 KJV)  We can apply the same thought to spritual children.  They must be taught, with care and patients, the right paths to take.  As we grow spiritually, we begin to take on the meat of the gospel.  We start evolving and maturing, gradually increasing in understanding and ability.  But we still need a lot of instruction and guidance and our brothers and sisters must be patient with us.  God is certainly patient and caring and instructs us through his word.

I believe one of the most important jobs of parents and especially of a father is to correct their children.  Our oldest son has passed the 2 year mark and is ready to start showing how much he has grown up.  We can see him trying to display his assertiveness.  However, sometimes he goes to far and needs reminded that he is, in fact, still a child.  These are small battles easily won by parents even though it is tempting to let him have his way.  One of my friends, a brother in Christ, told me that it was winning the small battles with his children at an early age that kept him from needing to fight the big battles later in life.  God's word both corrects us and instructs us to correct our children.

• As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Revelation 3:19 KJV)
  
• And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:5-11 KJV)
  
• Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (Proverbs 19:18 KJV)

We need spritial correction from time to time.  The sooner we can learn to respect, appreciate and love the correction of the Lord in our lives, the easier it will be to accept it as we grow.  Sometimes it seems reasonable to try to let our young people (young physically and/or spiritually) find their "own path".  It is much more appropriate to do whatever we can to safe gaurd their souls from the corruption and error in mans thinking.  "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:8 KJV)  The young are so impressionable which gives great opportunity to teach and enforce the goodness of God's word and the doctrine therein.

Conclusion

I'm sure that someone with children older than two years of age would have a great many other things to share on this topic but I hope you have benifited from some of the thoughts we have shared together.  Perhaps as my two boys grow and mature I'll take time to review and post an update to this article.  For now I thank you for your time and consideration and invite you to read other articles and lessons posted on our site.