The life of a believing person in this world is full of all kinds of trials and blessings. We live in the midst of evil, and this evil exerts stable influence on everyone living on earth. And it does not go anywhere. Our families are also subjected to attacks by the enemy of souls, who desires to establish his banner in the hearts of those who out of curiosity or by their own desire enter his territory. And it is bad to be alone when you fall and there is no one to lift you up, or when someone, having fallen themselves, drags along with them those who live with them in safety.
Children of believing people are the coveted prey of the enemy of souls, and he tirelessly walks around their homes, setting all kinds of traps and devising various temptations to steal, kill and destroy, if possible, even the chosen ones.
Parents need, as much as it is in their power, to keep small children with them and build such close trusting relationships that the child would consider it a rule to share everything that happens to them, what they experience and what they learn.
Parents are not robots who can tirelessly serve their child. They also get tired and become so mentally exhausted that they impatiently wait for the time when their child goes to sleep, just to sit and do nothing, and think about nothing.
The Lord knows what mothers experience and what they face while caring for children. He hears all their prayers for their sons and daughters and for each new day gives the weary soul strength to work and conquer.
Raising a child is not only parental responsibility, but also direct participation of all Heavenly invisible forces in the lives of children and their parents.
Some parents do not send their children to kindergartens and prefer to form the child's personality themselves. But the time comes when according to the law of the country children need to go to school, and parents are forced to place their children in secular educational institutions. They have no chance to avoid this event.
About 500 years ago, at the dawn of the reformation, enemies of God's people sought opportunities to oppose this movement, and they came up with the idea of taking upon themselves the right to educate the rising generation, putting into children's minds what would turn young consciousness away from truth and make it an ally of dark forces. They even made a motto: "Give us your children and believe in what you want."
How we would wish that at each of our churches there was its own school with God-fearing and wise teachers and educators. But we have a different picture and see how the plans of the enemies of reformation are successfully implemented in our days everywhere.
Trusting relationships built in early childhood and faith in God help parents not to give up, but to do everything possible to preserve their child's soul in purity and holiness. When a child understands from childhood whose they are and has personal relationships with Jesus, then it will be easier for them to resist all those temptations they will have to encounter in life.
When sending their children to "Egyptian schools," having no other alternative, parents should establish a "spiritual filter" in their family and ask the young student to tell them everything they experienced during the day, what new words and expressions they had never heard from their parents they learned, and what knowledge they received.
For a child who is accustomed to trusting you, it will not be difficult to share with you all that vinaigrette of godless expressions they will hear from their peers. Be ready to hear from the pure lips of your son or daughter the most obscene expressions, the meaning of which they may not even understand. Do not scold your child for their sincerity, but having listened to their "revelations," begin to explain what is bad and what is good. It is better for you to become a teacher of good and evil than to allow someone else to do this.
The opinion and point of view of loving parents will always be a priority for the child. And when they hear from you that bad words are no good and unacceptable in your home, then it will be easy for them to make this opinion their own and carry it through their entire life.
At the very beginning of the school path, it is very important for parents to know everything their child learns and give their assessment of what is happening and what is heard. It is worth bringing biblical verses into your conversations that support parents' opinion and explain that God is an Opponent of evil forces and will keep all who walk in straight paths of righteousness.
Children should understand that you love them and wish them happiness and success in everything. And this is not difficult to show them when your heart is overflowing with this love.
New education will give your children new friends who will influence their worldview in new ways. It is worth understanding what influence these friends have on your child and in trusting conversations give those instructions that you will consider correct.
Jesus prayed for us thus: "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from evil" John 17:15. God knows how dangerous our world is, but He sends us into it and keeps us from evil. Pray in the same way for your children, and the Lord will apply His hand and give you strength and wisdom.
Many parents, having the opportunity to educate children at home, fear that their offspring will be deficient, unadapted to life in the world and easily wounded beings. Where do such fears come from? From none other than the enemy of souls. The longer children live under the influence of God's forces, the stronger and wiser they become to resist all evil. The Bible gives us such examples: Joseph in Egypt, Daniel and his companions in Babylon.
All your lessons of goodness and holiness, all biblical principles put into the child's mind and heart, will guide your children in making decisions throughout their subsequent life. The spiritual filter that parents establish in early childhood will successfully filter out all filth until the child's old age, and the Lord will help children in this at all times.
Young years are the most important for strengthening spiritual immunity. And let your fears be directed toward how not to create additional temptations for the child's soul by sending them where they could have avoided being sent.
If state laws allow you to keep your children with you and educate them at home, then take advantage of this benefit for the good of your children, finding them wise and God-fearing teachers, and you will reap a good harvest.
If there is a Christian school near you about which there are good reviews from God-fearing parents, then you can use this advantage too, remembering that even in such schools worldly children study, whose influence must be understood and filtered.
God's people are the strongest people, even if they are still children. It will not be the world influencing them, but they will influence their entire environment. Having taught a child to have personal relationships with Christ, you will make your child an impregnable bastion against which all worldly temptations and winds of teaching will be shattered.
Preparing missionaries from children, you will see that this is possible, and already during your lifetime you will taste the good fruit of such upbringing. Do not be afraid to keep your children from evil. The purer your trusting relationships are, the purer children's lives will be.
Questions for Reflection
Please read Proverbs 1:10; 4:23; 22:6; 89:12; Ephesians 6:1,4; Psalm 1:1-3; 31:8; 120:5; 126:1; Isaiah 40:30-31; 1 Corinthians 15:33; John 8:32, in light of this lesson. What other verses from the Bible came to your memory? What did you understand from this lesson? What is a "spiritual filter" and how to establish it in the family? How should parents react to "bad words" that children learn at school? What role do biblical verses play in conversations with children? Why did Jesus pray this way according to John 17:15? What does this expression teach us? Why do some parents fear educating children at home? Why are young years important for strengthening spiritual immunity? What alternatives to state schools do you know? What makes children of believers an "impregnable bastion"? What advantages does home education provide? Why is it important to explain to children the difference between good and evil? What is the role of personal relationships with Christ in a child's life?