Article: Back to the Future - a podcast by Christopher Stephens

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(From 1/30/13)

Are you preparing your child for the future? When thinking about this as a parent you may ask yourself some questions. “Can my child read at or above their grade’s reading level?” “Is my child’s GPA high enough for the school they want to attend?” “Has my child worked hard enough this week at practice to ensure that scholarship?” “Is my child involved in the right type of social programs that will be with him throughout their life?” But too many people’s surprise, the future that I speak of is the future that is a surety for all of us.

This future that I’m referring to is judgment day. We all must go the route of being judged on whether or not we will enter the gates of heaven. There was a time when the only thing pushed on a child was the word of God. You would hear parents saying things like “spare the rod spoil the child” and “raise a child up in the way he should go and he will not depart from it”. But it seems as though we’ve been caught up in preparing our children for earthly success in the future and not for the eternal. We are in an age where we have our children awake and dressed when it’s dark outside for the bus stops, S.A.T. tests, and sports events. And then we let them sleep in for 9:30 AM Sunday school.

The Bible states in Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” In the same chapter in verse 15 it also says that “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.” Children will learn to do wrong on their own so parents are needed to train them to act right. Some may think it’s too hard to train your child for success in this world AND for the next (Eternal Life). But we must ask which future lasts the longest and is more important. And if you think about it the Bible teaches the same quality characteristics that sports teams, organizations, and education degrees teach. The Bible teaches and instills in you and your children the same tools for success here on earth and in order to make heaven your eternal home. Do you want your children to take God seriously well into their adulthood? It’s time to take the focus off of preparing our children for temporary success here on earth. If our children take care of God’s business then he’ll surely take care of theirs. As parents let’s take our focus Back to the Future that involves God.

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