Loaves & Fishes 27

instead put the same child, with
its sweet, open innocence, into a
righteous environment, what do
you think we will have at the end
of five years? If we place the child
in the midst of love, kindness,
purity, church life, the Bible, a
spiritual atmosphere, and all
that we have been discussing,
we will get a very different child.
I think we can all agree with this
and understand how it happens.
This is why we say a child is the
mirror of its parents. The true
life of the parents is etched out
in the soul of their children by
the things the child hears and
the things it senses.
Both types of children are
pictured in Figure 1 at this point
in their lives. They are both
unregenerate, needing to be
born again by the Spirit of God.
However, consider how differently
they come to the place of
personal salvation, because of
their environments.
The life of the parents is
etched on the soul of the child.
Oh parents, I hope we are alert
and can grasp the implications
of this. Can we see the impact of
the positive and negative sides?
The negative potential makes
our task urgent; but the positive
potential makes our task
exciting.
Both types of children will
grow up and hopefully hear the
same plan of salvation someday.
They both will need to be saved.
They both will have to deal with
their own self-centered nature.
But let me ask you a question:
which one has the better chance,
and which one would you rather
be?
What a blessing and favor
we give our children when we
recognize what God wants to
do with them and begin to work
with God to preserve their souls
from many evil patterns.
Loose the Heavy Burdens
I know all children are selfcentered,
born after Adam with a
sinful nature. I know we cannot
preserve them from everything,
but we can preserve them from
many things. What a tremendous
burden we place on them
if we neglect our responsibilities
and let them just grow up on
their own.
Some people might say here,
“Well, someday my children will
get converted, and then they
will be all right.” This is only
partially true. Yes, your children
will have an opportunity to give
their lives to God, but they also
will have more burdens to bear
in their Christian lives. The
process of sanctification will be
much harder for those who were
34 | Loaves & Fishes • Issue 27