For I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about himOne of the surest signs that a separation has taken place between the Lord and His people is when their children grow up denying the way of the Lord, and no longer walk in righteousness and justice. The heart of the covenant that the Lord makes with us is that the believer is both called and enabled to “command his children and his household after him.” When the heart of the covenant does not play out—that is when parents are unable to command their children to walk in the Lord's ways—it is grievous indeed.
Genesis 18:19
When our children grow up walking in the faith and obedience of their fathers, the Lord's favour is upon us. As a result of successive generations of children rising in their day to serve the Lord, as their parents did before them, the promises of the Lord and the future He has laid out for His people and His kingdom will surely come to pass. Thus God's declaration to Abraham in Genesis 18:19. Faithful children are the necessary means by which the promise is to be fulfilled.
The question of, to whom do the children belong, has become a deeply contentious issue in our day. Athens, that City of Unbelief, declares and asserts that all children ultimately belong to the State. Parents are mere temporary and easily redundant guardians, who must stand aside whenever the State makes claims upon the children. The State regards all parents to be essentially foster parents in role and function. The State believes itself to be the ultimate parent; it claims an authority higher than all parents to ensure that children are fed, housed, clothed, educated, and protected. The Unbelieving community, for its part, unanimously endorses this dogma. It is the undoubted humanist faith.
Underneath, there is a more subtle and sinister dynamic—a conspiracy in which Unbelievers are mere willing tools. The Lord has made it clear that whether His blessings and His promises come to pass is contingent, dependent upon whether His people command their children and their households after them, and whether they succeed in raising them to walk in faithful obedience. Satan, that Adversary of old, therefore seeks always to undermine parents and the Christian family. A key tactic is to have Unbelievers assert with all vigour that children belong not to parents, but to the community of Unbelief, represented by the State.
The truth, however, is this: children belong to the Lord, not to man. They are His. The Lord has entrusted children to their parents for a time, for their nurture, training, and instruction. He makes every parent responsible to ensure that these entrusted children grow up keeping the ways of the Lord. That is the reason why the Lord has chosen us, the parents, according to our text. Such is our calling and responsibility.
Since Satan is a vanquished foe, a mere paper tiger, whom the Lord Jesus cast out at the Cross, his schemes and conspiracies are powerful only amongst his willing and easily-led servants—those conditioned to Unbelief. But his schemes are empty and vanity amongst the Lord's people, for they are animated and protected by the Spirit of God Himself—and greater is He who is in them, than he who is in the world.
Therefore, as we live in faith, as we humble ourselves before the Lord and His commandments and His righteousness and His justice, as we lift up our voices in prayer for our children, as we accept our God-given responsibilities toward the Lord's children entrusted to us, as grandparents take up their responsibilities to their grandchildren, the Lord blesses us, and our households end up walking after us, in our steps of faith. It is part of His great promise to us: “I will be a God to you and to your children after you.”
One of our favorite movies is “A Few Good Men.” At one point, the villain, Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson) heaps scorn on Lieutenant Caffey (Tom Cruise)—a preppy tyro—saying, “You know what you have done? You have just weakened a country today.” So it is every time a household of the Lord raises children to walk after the Lord. The country of Unbelief has been weakened. The Kingdom of God has been magnified. Extending the promises and blessing of the Lord universally over the whole earth has been made more certain.
When godly households are manifested and intergenerational faith is revealed, it is as if the Lord has taken up the words of the poet and addressed them to the lords of Athens: “Look on My works, ye mighty, and despair.” The doom for Athens is certain:
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
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