WHAT MAKES PARENTS REJOICE
I was overjoyed to find some of your children living the life of truth, as the Father himself instructed us. 2 John 4, Phillips.
Only another parent could ever appreciate the thrill that parents know when their children grow up embracing the wise and loving values they have sought to instill in them. There are many deceptive side trips, many Satan-designed inducements, to hurt these precious lives that are an extension of our own. To see them pass through the formative years into settled Christian adulthood brings a deep satisfaction to parents that perhaps nothing could equal.
It is interesting to notice, however, the words that John chose to use when he spoke of these early believers whose youth, or new converts, made the right choices. He didn't say that they had chosen to obey the rules, or to join the right church, or to submit to their parents' authority. He didn't commend them for being nice people, or for wearing the right clothes. Rather, John rejoiced that they were "following the truth" (R.S.V.), or "living by the truth" (N.E.B.). His focus is upon truth, not upon any lesser reference point.
The apostle John, more than the other Gospel writers, built the story of Jesus around the conflict between truth and error. He often used the metaphor of light and darkness, and thus was fond of calling Jesus the Light of the world. John knew that the crux of the great controversy is a battle for the loyalty of men's minds and that God's ultimate weapon is truth--truth about Himself.
Children who merely conform to their parents' wishes for fear of offending them bring their parents no lasting consolation. Children who join "the right church," perhaps because all their friends have joined the same fellowship, are also on shaky ground. Enduring confidence in the spiritual life of our children, however, will come when we see that they are excitedly aware of the beauties of Jesus and, with intelligent reflection, have chosen to live as He lives.
My teenage daughter told me recently, "I am listening carefully to what my teachers are saying about who God is; and I'd be willing to speak out if I question what I hear, because I don't want my classmates to get a wrong picture of Him!" I had a sudden thrill very much akin to the one John expressed in today's text. There isn't a more reliable and rewarding guiding star for one's life.
I was overjoyed to find some of your children living the life of truth, as the Father himself instructed us. 2 John 4, Phillips.
Only another parent could ever appreciate the thrill that parents know when their children grow up embracing the wise and loving values they have sought to instill in them. There are many deceptive side trips, many Satan-designed inducements, to hurt these precious lives that are an extension of our own. To see them pass through the formative years into settled Christian adulthood brings a deep satisfaction to parents that perhaps nothing could equal.
It is interesting to notice, however, the words that John chose to use when he spoke of these early believers whose youth, or new converts, made the right choices. He didn't say that they had chosen to obey the rules, or to join the right church, or to submit to their parents' authority. He didn't commend them for being nice people, or for wearing the right clothes. Rather, John rejoiced that they were "following the truth" (R.S.V.), or "living by the truth" (N.E.B.). His focus is upon truth, not upon any lesser reference point.
The apostle John, more than the other Gospel writers, built the story of Jesus around the conflict between truth and error. He often used the metaphor of light and darkness, and thus was fond of calling Jesus the Light of the world. John knew that the crux of the great controversy is a battle for the loyalty of men's minds and that God's ultimate weapon is truth--truth about Himself.
Children who merely conform to their parents' wishes for fear of offending them bring their parents no lasting consolation. Children who join "the right church," perhaps because all their friends have joined the same fellowship, are also on shaky ground. Enduring confidence in the spiritual life of our children, however, will come when we see that they are excitedly aware of the beauties of Jesus and, with intelligent reflection, have chosen to live as He lives.
My teenage daughter told me recently, "I am listening carefully to what my teachers are saying about who God is; and I'd be willing to speak out if I question what I hear, because I don't want my classmates to get a wrong picture of Him!" I had a sudden thrill very much akin to the one John expressed in today's text. There isn't a more reliable and rewarding guiding star for one's life.
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