January 14, 2024

Every child is different. I feel as if this is an important place to start this parable. Here we find a father with two sons. Both take different paths. One son leaves, and the other son stays. One son takes a path of rebellion and defiance, and the other follows a path more agreeable and compliant. One son’s sins are loud, public, and obvious. The other son’s sins are quiet, subtle, and a lot more “acceptable.” But make no mistake about it. Both sons are sinners. Both will become “lost.” Just each in their own way.
There is an important observation we can make when we look at the story from this angle. The hard thing about having kids is that each child must choose their own path. Let this speak to you parents. Sometimes we have kids who go the way we hope they will go, and at other times our children go in directions that make us cringe. Many parents blame themselves for the choices of their children, but we shouldn’t. Yes, our lives have had an influence. Yes, we will have done some things right and done some things wrong. But in the end, it is our children who must choose their own path. We don’t get to take full credit for their success nor full blame for their failures. They must choose just like WE had to choose.
If you need a little more help with that, consider Adam for a moment. Who was Adam’s father? God. The Perfect One. The Holy One. The only being in the Universe who is flawless in every way. Yet, what happened to Adam? He sinned. He chose deliberate disobedience and a path that led to death and destruction. His choices unleashed mayhem upon the earth. Did Adam sin because God was not a good enough Father? Of course not. Adam created a mess because that was the path He chose. My guess is that you are nowhere near as perfect as God, so cut yourself some slack.
This fact should drive us to our knees, though. Our children live in a world with an enemy that seeks to devour them. They are bombarded every day by messages and influences that seek to draw them farther and farther away from God—and from us. We can’t choose for our children, as much as we wish we could. We can, however, pray for our children as though our prayers make all the difference in the world. Because sometimes, in a world full of choices, they do. And our prayers are the One Choice we can control! That’s God’s Word for you today.