What a contrast! Provoking our children to wrath versus bringing them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The pivotal point is crucial, we are either turning our children toward God or away from God. That puts great responsibility on us as parents!
In a home where anger, condemnation, sarcasm, intimidation, and fear rule, there is no love manifested, and children will be “turned off” to God and “turned on” to wrath. The same traits that we exhibit in our lives will soon be seen in them. But in a home where there is peace, encouragement, patience, consistency, joy, diligence, and love, children learn of the Lord naturally because they see God’s characteristics lived out in front of them. A firm spiritual foundation can be established for children to grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Lord.
Paul wrote of Timothy, “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). May the same be true of our children.
