? Give me a parent instruction manual!?
It’s a natural desire. We all want an instruction manual for parents. Manoah and his wife? Samson’s parents were no exception. Having been childless for decades, imagine the emotion felt by Manoa’s wife when the Angel of the Lord appeared with this promise:
- ? The angel of the Lord appeared to this woman and said.
- “Here you are barren and have never had a child.
- But you will conceive and give birth to a son.
- Now be careful.
- Don’t drink wine or alcoholic beverages.
- And don’t eat filthy; for behold.
- Thou shall conceive and bear a son in whose head a knife shall not pass; for the child shall be a Nazarite consecrated to God from the womb of his mother; and begin to free Israel from the power of the Philistines?(Thu 13.
- 3-5).
Her mind gets carried away as she runs towards Manoa, her words come out of her overflowing soul as she talks to her husband about the date.
“Then the woman went to her husband and said, “A man of God came unto me; his appearance was similar to that of a formidable angel of God; I did not ask him where he came from and he did not say his name unto me, but he said unto me, Behold, thou shall conceive and bear a son; Now, so don’t drink wine or liquor and don’t eat filthy things, why will the child be a Nazarene dedicated to God, from his mother’s womb to the day of his death?(Thu 13. 6-7).
Hand can no longer contain himself. He thinks, what?We’ve waited all these years to have a child. An ambassador of God is coming and he won’t leave us a manual for the parents!This man must come back! Here is the message from Manoa’s prayer in verse 8:
Then Manoa prayed to the Lord and said, Ah! My Lord, I pray that the man of God you have sent will return and teach us what to do with the child to be born.
Isn’t that the natural prayer of every Christian father?”Please, Father, show me, guide me, direct me, show me how to raise my son. “
In the case of Manoa, we are told that God heard her prayer and that God’s messenger has returned. He gave Manoa the latest addition of “50 Steps to Raising Her Children for the Lord,” then left. And Manoa, his wife and son Samson lived happily ever after?
But perhaps it happened like this: the angel of the Lord returned to Manoa’s wife. Once again, she runs to her husband. ” He’s here, Manoa!The man who came to see me the other day came back. God answered your prayer. Manoa follows his wife, runs to the man and asks, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?””I am,” he replies.
Then Manoa asks, “When your words are fulfilled, what will be the way of life and the service of the child?(Thu 13. 12). Here it is again: a second request for an instruction manual. rules will guide us, guide us and guide us step by step ??
The angel of the Lord replies: “May the woman keep all that I have told her. He will eat nothing that comes from the vine, or from wine, from alcoholic beverages, or from dirty things; Everything I told you will keep?( Thu 13: 13-14).
Hand drops his jaw, is it there?Couldn’t you leave us a scroll or a textbook on Papyrus?How about a list?
Instead of giving a list to Samson’s parents, the angel of the Lord exhorted them to a lifestyle: a God-dependent lifestyle, which glorifies God, confidently in God and gives himself to God.
This is the cultural meaning of the Nazi vow that Mano, his wife and son must fulfill: the commitment to consecrate and dedicate their lives to God through a living faith, shaped by daily trust in God alone. the fruit of the vine. Did not drinking from him mean living as Jesus lived in Matthew 4. 4?It is written: Not only man will live on bread, but from every word that comes out of God’s mouth.
Manoa and his wife wanted what each of us wants as Christian parents. “Father, show me to be the father of my son. “Our Father answers our prayer, but in his own way, not ours. Your parent manual contains a ‘rule’, a command’. And then:
Father, be like Christ by relying on God
This is the same message we receive from Paul in Ephesians. Paul writes one hundred and thirty-four verses about gospel-dependent life in Ephesians 1. 1?6. 3 before offering us a verse on fatherhood. ” And you, fathers, do not provoke the wrath of your children, but raise them in the discipline and warnings of the Lord?(Ep 6. 4). This verse is important and we finally use it as a topic. However, it is a verse in a broader context, centered on the gospel and dependent on Christ.
When I counsel parents, they usually expect me to run with them in Ephesians 6. 4 or, if their teenage children are in the session, they insist that they go to Ephesians 6. 1-3 and Paul’s mandate that children should honor and obey their at first, they are a little surprised when we begin to explore gospel-centered principles , such as:
Judges 13 and Ephesians 1-6 give the same basic counsel, from God, to parents.
To become more powerful parents, we must become more pious people—people dedicated to addiction to God.
Without a doubt, parents need specific wisdom for specific situations with each of their unique children; however, according to Judges 13 and Ephesians 1-6, the principle of wisdom, in addition to the foundation of parental dependence on God, leads to attempts at parenting. in the power of the flesh, not in the power of the Spirit.
Our prayer is that by Christ’s grace for us as parents, we can raise grace-saturated children in a results-oriented world. Whatever the needs of our children, we want their lives to be surrounded by grace and their hearts always attracted to the grace of Christ.
Then we prayed
Fill me up, Father, because I’m empty. I can’t be a father alone. My resources are limited; their infinity. My wisdom is so small; Yours is extraordinary. My love is so incoherent; it’s immutable. My discipline is so hard at one moment and so relaxed in the next; Yours is perfect. My discipleship is so low; it’s so majestic.
Dad, I need you. My kids need me to need you. I kneel before you that day, that moment, with empty hands raised to the Lord and eyes raised with hope toward you. Lord to depend on the Lord, discernment of a father based on the revelation of his Word, devotion of a father who reflects his affection and fatherly affirmation in Christ, discipline of a father who defies the heart of the son and disciple of a father. who equips the son for the career of life.
I know that only the Lord is the perfect Father, so I know I will not be a perfect father today.
Therefore, I pray that the Lord will allow me to be a father of GRACE and that, after all, the Lord will be the father of my children.
Let me be the father of my children as the Lord is my father
With love, your child is always dependent.
This article was extracted, with permission, from Dr. Kellemen’s book, “Raising Children in the Path of Grace: 5 Practical Marks of Grace-Centered Parenting”.