YOUNG CHRISTIANS
by Dr. W . Robert Smith
R adio listeners have s u bm i t t e d some very interesting questions. We are not always able to answer them over the air, however, due to the personal nature of the inquiry. To do so adequately would require many more facts and information before practical counsel could be rendered. One mother writes, “We have sev eral children in our home, ages, 7, 6, 5, and 1. My husband and I have been born again for several years. The six and five-year-olds, as far as I can tell, are also saved. Our 7-year-old girl, however, doesn’t seem to have any relationship with the Lord. She will brag about knowing all the Christian songs, and says she asked Jesus into her heart two years ago, but is not visibly interested in Him. Frankly, I have not had a good rela tionship with her since she was a baby. There seems to be a strain be tween us. I pray every day that I will love her more, but it is so hard. She is so deceiving and selfish. When I try to be loving and show interest in her, she rejects it. What can I do?” Parents need to be careful in impos ing upon little children a mature love for Jesus Christ. Youthful emotions will vacillate. They will enjoy mud pies now and in a moment later want a sandwich. Because a youngster does not always show a continuing inter est in the things of Christ doesn’t mean that he is necessarily disinter ested. There are many things about them that captivite their fancy. In the case of a happily married couple sometimes there is great exhuberance of joy while at other times they will quietly accept one another, going about their work, with very little out ward expression. Parents unfortu nately will sometimes seek to impose upon a child a kind of perfectionist complex. Boys and girls are not ma ture adults nor are they great spir itual giants. There is a great deal of
difference between innocence and spiritual maturity. As an example, a small boy is innocent to the problems of sex because he has never gone through the stages of maturity. Some of the characteristics of little children should be emulated in hu mility by many of us. When we try to impose upon a child the maturity of an adult in some of these areas, we may be asking him to do some thing which his heart isn’t in. When he gets older he will frequently say his experience was not real and he will rebel. It can be dangerous to cause pressures and tensions in these early years. This is true when par ents put undo emphasis upon grades and force the youth to a place where he mentally breaks. Unfortunately, this happens all the time. Too much of it is merely for the satisfaction and prestige of the parent. Don’t try to make your child perfect. You are not. Put before them their only per fect Example, the Lord Jesus Christ. Teach them to seek wisdom and guid ance from Him. Above all, let them know the reality of your concern and deep abiding love. Give them the sense of security which they must have. In the case of our letter writer, this strain probably is the mother’s fault. The child did not put the bar-
One of Biota's talented students is Dave Clark of Los Alamitos, California. Young people have the opportunity of selecting music as a major, along with a choice of t8 other different courses/.
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