IMITATE JEHOVAH WHEN TRAINING YOUR CHILDREN

Love-The Motivating Force

"God is Love," says the apostle John.  So, then, the training Jehovah provides is always motivated by love.  (1 John 4:8; Proverbs 3:11, 12 ) Does this mean that parents who have natural affection for their offspring would find it easy to imitate Jehovah in this regard?  Not necessarily.  God's love is principled love. And one Greek scholar points out that such love "does not always run with the natural inclinations."  God is not blinded by sentimentality.  He always considers what is best for his people. -Isaiah 30:20; 48:17.

Consider the love Jehovah showed in dealing with the Israelites. Moses used a beautiful analogy to describe Jehovah's love for the young nation of Israel.  We read:  "Just as an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its fledglings, spreads out its wings, takes them, carries them on its pinions,  Jehovah alone kept leading [Jacob]."  (Deuteronomy 32:9,11, 12)  To teach her young to fly, the mother eagle stirs up her nest,' fluttering and flapping her wings to urge her young ones to take off.  When a young bird finally dives out of the nest, which is often lodged on a high crag, the mother "hovers over" the young.  If it seems that the fledgling might hit the ground, the mother swoops down under it, carrying 'on her pinions.'  Lovingly, Jehovah cared for the  newborn nation of Israel in s similar way.  He gave the people the Mosaic Law.  (Psalm 78:5-7)  God then watched over the nation with a keen eye, ready to come to the rescue when his people were in trouble.

How may Christian parents imitate Jehovah's love?   First, they must teach their children the principles and standards found in God's Word.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)  The goal is to help the young learn to make decisions in harmony with Bible principles.  In doing  this, loving parents hover over their young ones, so to speak, observing how they apply the principles they have learned.  As the children get older and are gradually given greater freedom, the caring parents are ready to "swoop down" and 'carry their young on their pinions' whenever there is danger.  What type of danger?

Jehovah God warned the Israelites of the consequences of bad associations.  (Numbers 25:1-18; Ezra 10:10-14)  Associating with the  wrong crowd is also a common peril today.  ( 1 Corinthians  15:33)  Christian parents do well to imitate Jehovah in this regard.  A 15 year old girl named Lisa became interested in a boy who did not share her family's moral and spiritual values.  "My parents immediately noticed a change in my attitude and showed concern," relates Lisa.   "At times they corrected me, and at other times they tenderly encouraged me."  They sat down with Lisa and listened patiently, thus helping her to deal with what they discerned to be the underlying problem-the desire to be accepted  by her peers.

Next time: Keep the Lines of Communication Open

Watchtower, 2001