Parents: The Loving Regents God Sets Over His Children

God gives us our children to teach and train for a short time on His behalf. It is an awesome and challenging responsibility to raise children of the Great King—who themselves can become future kings!

Recently a friend of mine told a cute story about a family sitting at the dinner table preparing to eat. After the prayer over the food was finished, one of the small children asked, “Why doesn’t God come down here?” After all, the prayer was said to Him, and this little one thought it fitting that God would want to sit right at the table so that He could hear the prayer directed to Him.

We all had a good laugh after this heartwarming story, but it got me thinking about parenting and how we are to serve our children in preparing them to have a relationship with their Heavenly Father.

The work of a regent

Probably every parent has been on the receiving end of one of these types of questions: What does God look like? Why can’t I see Him? Does He like grapes? What is His favorite color?

Our children rely on us, their parents, to provide some type of answer to these questions. In their own way, children want God to be real to them.

Think about young Joash, the boy king. We are told Joash was 7 years old when he became king (2 Chronicles 24:1). How real was it to Joash to be ruling over an entire nation? Think about what seemed real to you when you were age 7.

Joash needed someone to teach him how to be a king. He needed instruction on how to deal with the citizens of his kingdom, as well as the nations around them. He had to learn which nations were allies and which were enemies.

A young king needs a regent to train and teach him until he comes of age to make his own decisions. Such regents have a huge responsibility, as they are responsible for making decisions and signing documents on behalf of the king. In essence they take the responsibility of building a foundation for their young ruler. Joash had just such a regent in the high priest Jehoiada.

There are parallels in the realm of parenthood. God wants the children of Christians to also grow up to be converted Christians and to have the potential to be “kings and priests” to God (1 Corinthians 7:14; Revelation 1:6; 20:4).

Loving but temporary administrators

Even though we don’t normally give our children an entire realm to rule as a child, we do find that our children occupy a great deal of our time and resources. In truth, our opportunity to impact our children is limited to a few short years, but those years need to be filled with healthy instruction and positive examples. Some of the most important teachings we can pass along to our children involve the One who will ultimately replace us as the primary caregiver in the lives of our children—God. Just like the cute story in the beginning of this post, it falls to us as parents to introduce our children to the Father and Jesus Christ.

Taking time to read Bible stories (acting them out is even better!) and to expose your children to God’s creation while on family walks can help them come to understand that there is something very special in their future and that God wants their future to be bright. When they reach an age when they can comprehend elements of God’s plan, it is important to talk about the deeper relationship God wants to have with them.

As our children grow older and God becomes a permanent fixture in their lives, it is a joy to watch as they begin to make important spiritual decisions based on what they have read themselves. They find out that their own parents are also children of God. Acting on the foundation given by Mom and Dad, our children add to and strengthen that foundation with the help of God.

Train up, before they grow up

I remember when my wife and I taught our sons how to ride their bicycles. We pushed and pushed and pushed, as we watched their little legs struggle to peddle. I wondered if the training wheels would ever come off!

Then came the day when we were able to remove the trainers and ultimately let go of the seat, and watch as they rode away—on their own. Today they inform us that they are going to ride their bikes, and off they go. Our work as a regent in that area has ended.

They have also learned that God is first in their lives, but it’s nice to know they still want Mom and Dad there to answer any questions. Parents who realize that they are acting as regents serving in the realm of parenthood should ask God continually for His help to “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

God has allowed us as parents to share in the joy of raising children with the hope they will turn to Him when they come of age—and eventually fulfill their ultimate potential of being “kings and priests.” As the loving regents for children who belong to God, our hope is that our years of preparation will bear the fruit that our loving Father desires.

Todd Carey is a Church of God, a Worldwide Association, pastor in Virginia. He and his wife, Gloria, have two children.

See the previous post by Todd Carey:

• And Baby Makes Three