Batting Averages

(Proverbs 22:6 KJV)  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

My grandfather batted .143 alive but it improved to .714 after he died.  My father batted 1.000.  So far my brothers and I seem to be at 1.000.  When I run down people that I would include in my inner circle of friends although a couple are a bit wobbly, I can only think of one child who grew up to reject the faith, and we still have hopes for her.  That is a pretty good record.

Is there a secret for raising godly children?  This verse would indicate there is.  Notice that it is not a secret formula that guarantees success.  You must “train” (2596) them.  That is the hard part.  It does not mean to turn them over to the Sunday School teachers and youth pastors.  It does not mean making them take Bible study programs.  It means much more than that.  The hardest part is that it means you must live what you are trying to teach.  I think of my grandfather.  So far I have not found any of his children who have much good to say about him.  What is painful is that he was a pastor but one who tended to be extremely rigid and self centered.  He may have taught it but he did not live it very well.

So?  There is hope.  None of us is perfect.  I keep in mind that after the negative parts of my grandfather’s example were removed the Holy Spirit was still able to work with most of his children.