to us are a result of a lack of early love. A woman in her thirties came to me, and out of the hunger of her soul she said, “You know, it’s very difficult to believe that God loves me. My father and mother never did.” How can we show our children the love of God if we don’t reveal a true love for them individually? That is why love and discipline go together. Your child needs a sense of belonging, a sense of real love, a sense of being accepted for its own sake. At the same time, because it is a little child, bom into the world with a self-centered will, it needs discipline and correction. This is how a child begins to grow and develop when the two are in proper perspective. Tell TWO KINDS OF TROUBLE I have only two sorts of troubles; The sort I can understand, Which shows me His love and His wisdom, The tenderness of His Hand. And the other sort, far too puzzling, Too deep to be understood; Some of the precious "all things" Which work together for good. Since I've only two sorts of troubles. Easy and light is my load, And I'm casting all of my troubles On my burden-bearing God. your child you love him. We should be interested in what the child is inter ested in. We ought to provide an atmos phere of love in which the child can live. Our discipline must be consistent. The child should be taught that whin- ning gets it nothing. He will need to learn that all authority comes from the Lord. Discipline needs to come within the quiet pattern of that which is mature; not a fussing nature. Let us thank the Lord for the guid ance His Holy Spirit gives in this area of life. May we willingly accept the discipline of our own lives so that we may be better examples for our youth. 8
had seen these pictures during the day slept much more fitfully. What one sees can easily affect his nervous life. There is even a need to provide for the esthetic development of the child. What kind of music do we have in the home? If all your youth hears is the jive or rock ’n roll beat he will grow up to be eccentric on that point. Do we have any of the great chorales of the church? What about some sym phonies by Beethoven, or the Bach pre ludes and Chopin etudes? If you want your child to appreciate the great musi cal heritage of our world you must accept the responsibility and make a provision for it. The child cannot pro vide for itself. It does not know what a balanced diet is. I know a dear mother who happens to be the wife of a college staff man. Her children all had very difficult times. They looked weak and were troubled with various kinds of prob lems. We found out that this woman was giving them some form of dried ipeat for economy every day. This wasn’t enough. Today we have a vast choice of foods and vitamins. As a fa ther or mother we must fully provide for our children. The Scripture says that if we do not, we have actually denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever. The Lord gave your child to you that you might provide for it all that is necessary for maturity. If that young man or young woman is to live for Jesus Christ and take his or her place in society you must make ample provi sion. In our next message we will touch on this more fully, however, one of our prime responsibilities is to render lov ing discipline (notice what kind!). The one great desire of every human heart is love. If the child ps loved and ac cepted, not rejected, regardless of what ever failures may come, they will gen erally be well adjusted. If the child is not accepted into the household, if it doesn’t have sense of belonging he will be warped as long as he lives. In the counselling ministry we find that many of the lonely hearts coming
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