| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor” Our Bible verse for today: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Teach your children well” When I was a child, our church was within walking distance from our home – just one block away. On Sunday mornings my mother would dress us up in our Sunday best and lead us up the sidewalk in a row, like five little ducklings following the mamma duck. We would all go to mass at Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church. On weeknights we would also go to catechism classes (Sunday school) to receive training for our First Holy Communion, and then later as teenagers for our Confirmation. I dropped out of church in my mid-teens and didn’t return until I was in my mid-thirties, but during those faithful childhood years the seeds of faith were planted deep in my heart, and they would bear fruit many years later. That storyline tends to hold true in a majority of cases. Proverbs 22:6 is a general principle that applies broadly, not an etched-in-stone guarantee that applies specifically in every case. But it is often true that those who receive good training in the Christian faith as children, usually either remain faithful throughout life or they return to the faith later in life if they drifted for a while. The key is a faithful parent (or even better, parents) who taught the faith to the child. If they modeled it in their own life, and if they had that child in church and Sunday school throughout the growing up years, there’s a good chance the seeds of faith were planted. This is without question the most important role a parent has to play in the life of a child. No other lessons about life issues, conduct, or behaviors are more important than instruction in the Christian faith. Nothing will have a greater impact in the life of that child, or be of more value to him or her throughout their life, than will the planting of the seeds of faith in their young mind and heart. Children learn their lessons of faith first and best from their parents. When it comes to your responsibility to mentor and influence your children in good and positive ways, nothing is more important than what you teach them about God and about how to live the Christian faith well. I encourage you to be the model of faith that your children need to see. Teach your children well. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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