The greatest gift through a parent

Every so often a question comes up from a person about their children. Many parents in the faith always have concerns about the future of their children that may not be interested or have fallen away from the faith. Like any parent they are concerned about whether they will be in God’s Kingdom or remain outside of it forever. Some of my friends out there that once were in the same church and now don’t go often have said that they hope they do enough good in this life to “make it” not fully knowing what lies ahead because of your choices. There are a few that have resigned themselves even to going to hell because they no longer wish to go to church. In many cases these children raised in the church were also hurt in some ways by the church culture so they had good reasons to leave. What is the answer for them?

There is no clear cut answer but one set of scriptures found in 1 Corinthians.

The apostle Paul was addressing conduct in marriage and how a Christian should conduct themselves. In the passage he addresses this issue.

1 Corinthians 7:13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

From this scripture we can see that both the spouse and the children are ‘sanctified’ which means set apart from the world. They become holy through the believing member of their parents. Holy itself means set apart, so God sees the children in a different way that those of the rest of the world. Sure they will face challenges, have to live with their choices, and how they live their life. One thing remains is they will still be set apart because of the believing parent. Set apart means God is still active in their lives whether they want Him in it or not. He is active in their lives because He is active through the parent who loves them. I don’t know of a single believing parent that does not pray for their children. For that reason alone God would take special considerations for their offspring.

While it is not a guarantee of what’s to come for them. It is still an indication of God’s grace in their lives. It is also a great blessing given through the parent to their children that goes well beyond this present life. One that places their well being in God’s hands

Your Brother in Christ,

Steve Koenig

Lakeshore Fellowship