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