THE ESSENTIAL OF PARENTAL EXAMPLE.

‘’Action speak louder than words’’ says this old adage. A child likeness is the result of imitation from his parent, many give birth to children but only few set the values for their children to follow. How good, glorious and joyous to become a parent in action by directing your children in the way they should go but lamentable to become a parent of word not by action. A wise King once said, ‘’Train up a child in the way that he should go: and even when they are old, they will not turn from it’’, this were the very words of him. The problem of bad and filth youngster today is the result or the absent of training in the way , parent today fail to teach their children the way they should go, no child knowns the way to go, they need assistance, guidance and vision from their parent to direct and lead them on a level and good path. Don’t be so busy and ignorant, never neglect your responsibilities as a parent, always make sure you spend valuable time with your children, training in the WAY and knowing them substantially. Never you say, ‘’they are old enough to know the way’’, when you yourself (parent) always pray this “Teach me thy WAY, O LORD and lead me on a level path because of my enemies” (the world),  tell me are you not old enough to decern your ways? Why do you keep on disturbing and imploring to your FATHER by saying ‘’And lead us not in to temptation but deliver us from evil” are you not wise enough to know thy ways? You keep on imploring those prayers to GOD hoping for HIS ANSWERS AND GUILDANCE but fails to respond to the need of your children by teaching them the way to go. Teaching or training in the WAY do not mean using contemptuous words on them, neither inflicting injuries and tattoos(some cicatrix might be permanent) by whipping them nor giving them hard horrendous punishment, whether you acknowledge this type of training or not to  them, if there mind are not willing to be surrender, they will not change. In essence, training up them in the way means discipline them in the Right standard and principles to live, showing them and leading them in the good standard and principles of living. As parent, you cannot tell your children not to tell lies or cheat when you yourself do tell lies and cheat by your action, remember children imitate action than words, they are carefully and constantly observing your every moves, never think a child never knowns what you are doing, he cautiously notice your actions and conclude them to be good either if it’s right or wrong. For example, a child observes his father at a tender age smoking cigarette, he immediately concludes it in his intellect as a right thing to do, saying and registering this in his mind “when am older, I will become like daddy”. Every parent are responsible for his child success and failure, never ever tell a child a lie whenever he asks you delicate and sophisticated questions, don’t even tell them it not for their age because they will eventually find answers from any source either good or bad, always tell them the truth you practice not the true you say, whatever you say and don’t do is a lie, tell them the truth and it consequences attach to it. Make sure you yourself are their standard forsss good living, your lifestyle is their principle which they abide to, make sure they only see, do and hear only what they see you do just like GOD THE FATHER AND THE SON, if you don’t do what you say to them, they will never do what you speak to them, remember this adage, ‘’a leader is known by his example’’, if you are not ready to show the example, the way, they will never be what you always speak to them. In principle, before you train your children in the WAY, you must first discover and know the path in which you as a parent travel along (see proverbs 12vs28, Mathew 7vs5), if you probably don’t know the path you abide by, definitely you will never know what way to train your children, for it is written, ‘’why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye; when there is the log own eye’ ’can a blind man(parent) lead(train) a blind man (child)? Will they not both fall into a pit? As a parent, we need to know our path in order to train our children. Study the life of JESUS AND THE FATHER, you will see that the FATHER established HIS WAYS solemnly in JESUS to the extend HE always says ‘’He only do and speak what the FATHER will” (see John 5:19), Jesus never ever do what he didn’t see HIS FATHER DO, HE only does what HE sees HIS FATHER DO. 

 

IN WHAT IMAGE AND LIKENESS ARE YOU.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it’’. What are your ways? In what image and likeness are you? What are your characters?  Who do you resemble? This is the question we must ask ourselves before we decide to make (have) MAN (babies) in our image (typical resemblance), after our likeness (appearance, character or nature), until we know and define what our image and likeness are then we are ready to make man(babies) and train them up in the way (principles) they should go, are your ways (standards) right? Are you practicing and living a life worth showing the ways (principles) to go? Your image and likeness are great influence in determine how good or bad your child will be, if you have a dangerous evil image and likeness don’t expect your child to be good because what you constantly do becomes registered in his mind as right, this is why REPITITION is dangerous, what the child always sees and listen to from his parent are recorded in his heart (subconscious mind) which becomes his outward manifestation. In some critical state, the child might behave or act stupid to the parent, instead of the parent to correct his child mistake by rectifying his own image and likeness, he ends up insulting his son “stupid” not knowing his son only imitate his stupidity from his image and likeness. Gen 1 vs 26 tells us how GOD decided to make a creature who will be a typical resemblance of HIM both in nature and character, after that, he trained up man (his children) in the way (principle and standard) that they should go (live) by giving them the way (THE BIBLE) in order to be like what HE IS AND FOREVER PRACTINIG (Mathew 5:48). So to raise good and GOD glorifying children we must be ready to set and practice the principle for them to look up to, even the animals of the forest understand this, for a cub of a lion, bear or a wolf to become as it parent are, it must imitate the actions of how it parent battle for survive in the forest, even babies, a baby must imitate how to become a human being from his parent before he behave like one. The cub of a lion after imitating the action of it FATHER is now called a Lion, the same implies to a baby, when your image and likeness is transmitted to your children they no longer see them, instead, they see you in them as one, this what JESUS meant when HE said ‘’I and my Father are one” (see John 10:30), the FATHER made sure HE thoroughly convey HIS image and likeness IN THE SON, no wonder when Philip asked HIM to reveal THE FATHER to them HIS reply was “HE who has seen ME has seen the FATHER” (see John 14:9). Your image and likeness are so essential in training up a child, if you want to have good children who are GOD’S servants, make sure your image and likeness are good and GOD’S glorifying, make sure when people see them, they see you, make sure they testify good things about them which defines your very nature just like how Paul saw and described THE SON in the LIKENESS OF HIS FATHER (see Colossians 1 vs 15). If you strictly impact your likeness and image to your little ones as GOD THE FATHER DID, when men acknowledge, offend, deny or ridicule your children they also ridicule you the parent because your very image and likeness manifested and inherent in your children reveal you in them (see Mathew 10vs32).