Little Romans

King Solomon once said, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” ( Proverbs 22:6). In other words, if we send our kids off to Caesar for an education we should not be surprised if they come home as little Romans.

Jesus echoed the same sentiment in Luke 6,

Every pupil who is fully trained will be like his master (Luke 6:40).

We become like the people we hang around. Especially when we are young.

This is both a caution and an encouragement for those who wonder if the time they spend investing in a Christian worldview for their children is worth it. It is.

The words, ” fully trained” above include the idea of making repairs and adjustments, and that’s the purpose of discipline. Discipline is not punishment, it’s a wheel alignment. It’s what a young boy our girl needs, as well as what a young disciple of Jesus needs. And they (discipleship) is what they will get, one way or another.

It’s not a question of whether they will be discipled, but by whom. Who will be their master, their instructor, their teacher? It’s not a question of whether they will be mastered but what they will be mastered by.

Those who point their children to Jesus as Lord over all of life can have every confidence that they will grow in His likeness. This does not exclude the possibility of great mistakes, great sins, lengthy, fruitless wanderings and painful lessons. There will be plenty of that, but we should not lose heart.

Why? Because the incarnation of God as the man Jesus Christ has made God accessible to all who come to him for help. In the birth of Christ, God has come to man, as a man, in order to be with man.

God is with us. He is with us to will and to work according to all His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He is with us to train, instruct and guide our children. He is with us for mercies sake to cover a multitude of clumsy and often deliberate sin.

He has come to put to death the little Roman within us all, realign our hearts and sanctify our minds that we might obey His instruction in all of life, and so be like Him.

This Christmas, may it be your ambition to let the word of Christ dwell in you and your children richly. Teach them Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16) that draw them nearer to Christ, and as far away from Rome as possible.