Focusing on children’s ministry

Records in the Bible and living examples show that childlessness is a serious cause of sorrow in the families concerned.
   Many parents waste fortunes consulting witchdoctors, prophets and professional counsellors in an attempt to establish and address the reason for their barrenness.
The desire for children is noble and justified because the Bible says that children are a gift from God, a  heritage from God and a blessing of God.
Biblical women like Sarah, Hannah and Rachel reveal how desperate people without an issue can be. Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, actually contemplated death because of her state of childlessness.
While it is generally true that it is more blessed to have your own children than not, there is a sense in which having children can be a reproach, if not a curse.
The cases of having ungrateful, parent — dishonouring, irreverent, rebellious and stubborn children cause the parents concerned to regret ever having children in the first place. The untold suffering and strife in such families tempt the parents to consider disowning or forsaking the children.
Before you criticise some parents for sending their children on the streets may you hear their story first? Sending children onto the streets is not the best solution to heal their waywardness but it can be done out of desperation sometimes.
Deuteronomy 22:20 reads, And they shall they say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. This presents a clear case of parents giving up on their unruly child.
The writer of Proverbs echoes the same sentiments when he said, There is a generation that curseth their father and doth not bless their mother (30:11). Such a generation of children who constitute a thorn in the flesh to their parents abounds in our day.
They cause so much pain and sorrow in the hearts of their parents that they end up cursing the days when they bore such children.
No wonder why the life-span for children and youth continue to shorten in our time. Among the causes thereof is the dishonouring of parents. Deuteronomy 5:16 says, Honour thy father and thy mother as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with thee.
Thus length of days or long life is heavily depended on the soundness of your relationship to your parents, and slightly on your medical card or your bodily exercise. This is the wisdom of God; you can only argue with it to your undoing.
What causes children to be stubborn, disobedient and rebellious? There are many reasons, chief of them being the devil and evil parental influence.
The main cause of evil is the devil. He is unrelentingly opposed to God and all that is good and godly. He knows that strong families produce strong societies and strong nations so he plants barrenness, discord and division among the families in order to weaken them.
He raises up a crop of rebellious little children to constantly harass their parents, so they spend time weeping instead of praying.
Evil parental examples reproduce children after their  own kind. Such parents do not take the duty of raising up their children in the way of the Lord seriously. They spoil them by sparing the rod of correction.
They are too loving, possessive and overprotective. Proverbs 13:24 says, He that spareth his rod hateth his son, but he loveth them chasteneth them betimes. But Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go; when he is old, he will not depart from it. Thus proper early training, instruction and indoctrination are important in raising children.
The solutions to the above-mentioned causes of children’s waywardness could be many but the most effective one is to train, instruct and correct the children using the word of God and to cover them daily in intercessory prayer.
Prophet Isaiah instructs us to teach them God’s word and the fear  of God right from the time they are weaned (Isa. 28:9).
In this respect, the Bible Society deserves honour and thanks for translating the English Bible Versions for children into Shona and Ndebele versions filled with colourful pictures and illustrations that will make the training up of children both a serious venture and an entertainment.
– For spiritual help and counsel call 011877180 or e-mail: mairos78@yahoo.co.uk