IMITATE JEHOVAH WHEN TRAINING YOUR CHILDREN - Love-The Motivating Force

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 it 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,m 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 it ' on her pinions.'   Lovingly, Jehovah cared for  the newborn nation of Israel in a similar way.  He gave the people the Mosaic Law.  (Psalm 78:5-7)  God than 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 to 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 children get older and are gradually given greater freedom, the caring parents are ready to "swoop down" and 'carry their young on their pinions' wherever 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

The Watchtower, 2001