Mrs. Reeta Jones sits comfortably before a class of curious teenagers who ask her many questions about what it’s like to be 105 years old. A petite 113 pounds with short white hair, she lives on the campus of a small Christian academy in Tennessee. Although she lives alone, she still gardens, raises flowers and vegetables, cooks, and cans her vegetables. At lunchtime she putts to the cafeteria to eat with the young people who affectionately call her “Ma Jones.”
She still remembers walking home from school around the age of seven, when a woman in a noisy “big black thing” drove up behind her and asked her if she wanted a ride. The “big black thing” petrified little Reeta back then because she had never seen a Ford Model T.
Who would have dreamed that Reeta, born in 1898, would live through parts of three centuries, through two world wars, have six children, 17 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren?
She attributes her long life to many things: she’s been a vegetarian for 70 years, never smoked or drank alcohol, believes in God, and attends church faithfully. But Ma Jones also reminds her young listeners of another important factor in her longevity. “I obeyed my parents.”
The fifth commandment states, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Exod. 20:12, KJV. And Paul admonishes the young, “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.” Col. 3:20. Mrs. Jones is a living testimony of these divine promises and principles.
1. How does God view children?
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
2. What happened in the lives of Adam and Eve after the Fall?
Genesis 4:1, 2 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel.
3. What happened to Abraham and Sarah when they were beyond their childbearing years?
Genesis 21:2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
4. What special vow did Hannah make to God, and how did He answer her prayer?
1 Samuel 1:11, 19, 20 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” … So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
Having children is a privilege, not a right. Children are a special gift from God, and He expects parents to handle them with special care.
1. Before bringing the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan, what instruction did God give them?
Deuteronomy 6:1, 6, 7 “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess…. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
Deuteronomy 11:19 “You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
2. What counsel is given by Solomon the Wise?
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
3. What specific directions were given to the parents of John the Baptist before he was born?
Luke 1:13–17 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
When God has special plans for the lives of certain children, like Samuel and John the Baptist, He gives their parents specific instructions on how to raise these children.
What happens to children who are not properly corrected?
Proverbs 29:15 The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
Modern child psychology teaches that children should not be spanked. But the Bible teaches that physical punishment may be necessary to correct a child. However, this should never be done out
of anger, impulse, or with harshness. Neither should children be slapped, kicked, punched, or dragged around by their hair, limbs, or ears. These are cruel, demeaning, and frightening means of discipline.
Parents should make every effort to first correct their children through milder methods, like reasoning and praying with them and patiently and kindly leading them to recognize their own wrongdoing. And in many cases this will be sufficient. Also, negative consequences other than physical punishment might be even more effective, such as losing privileges, or forfeiting time with friends. But when necessary the “rod” may be used, after parental passion has subsided.
The goal is to help children realize that habits of sin and disobedience bring painful and sometimes life-threatening consequences—if not now, later in life. Parents must use less devastating sources of pain such as a spanking or the denial of privileges to enforce this idea while there’s still time to correct a child’s life course.
1. What are the responsibilities of children to their parents, and why?
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
2. What should parents, especially fathers, keep in mind in relating to their children?
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
3. When a loving Christian mother properly trains and disciplines her children, how will the children and husband generally treat her?
Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her.
4. What happens to children whose parents have integrity?
Proverbs 20:7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.
1. How did the disciples treat the mothers who brought their children to Jesus?
Mark 10:13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
2. What was Jesus’ response to these children?
Matthew 19:14, 15 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Mark 10:14, 16 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.” … And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
“Jesus was ever a lover of children…. Wherever the Savior went…His gentle, kindly manner won the love and confidence of children…. He knew that these children would listen to Him and accept Him as their Redeemer far more readily than would grown-up people, many of whom were the worldly-wise and hardhearted.” The Desire of Ages, pp. 511, 512.
1. What did Malachi prophesy would happen to parents, especially fathers, and their children before the Second Coming?
Malachi 4:5, 6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
2. According to Isaiah’s prophecy, what will children be doing when the earth is made new?
Isaiah 11:6, 8 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them…. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.”
3. What is the greatest joy that any Christian parent can experience?
3 John 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Parents who cooperate with God, training and disciplining their children will be richly blessed. Children who respect, honor, and obey their parents will be richly blessed also. Our communities and society will benefit from faithful Christian families.
Unless otherwise noted, all verses quoted are from the New King James Version of the Bible.
