Well, it’s that time of year again. Summer is over and children and teachers everywhere are heading back to school, some even for the first time. For my family, this is a first for us. You see, my oldest child, Emma, is beginning kindergarten, and we could not be any more excited for her. This is also a first for us in another way. We will be homeschooling our children, and we are so excited to begin this first year. From the moment we decided to homeschool our kids, people began to ask us why we wanted to homeschool. While there are multiple reasons that I could give, all of the reasons come back to two really important things in our life: faith and family. Now I am not saying that only people that homeschool are focused on faith and family. We just believe that for our family, homeschooling will help us focus on those values as we strive to be the best Christians and parents we can be.
Like Christian parents all over the world, we want to live faithful lives before God and train our children to walk in His ways. The words of Proverbs 22:6 should inspire us all as Christians and as parents to truly focus on the training of our children so that our children will continue to walk with Christ. The world we live in is constantly attacking our faith and the family unit as a whole, and we as Christians must do whatever we can to combat those attacks.
When we look into the world, this is what we see. Gender is seen as fluid. Gender roles are seen as archaic. Marriage is no longer sacred. Homosexuality is widely accepted. Cohabitating is a continual problem. Many fathers are not acting like fathers. Many mothers are not acting like mothers. Children in many cases are running their homes, as many parents want to be more like their child’s friend than like their child’s parent. As Christians and parents, we must look back to the Word and see the way God intended for us to live and behave as Christians and as parents.
In Genesis 1:27, we see that both man and woman were made in the image of God. These two distinctly different genders were made for each other and were to become husband and wife (Genesis 2:18-24). From the beginning of time, gender, marriage, and the family unit as a whole were defined and created by our God the Creator. Marriage, as God designed, was to be sacred. One man and one woman for life. Marriage is a bond that has been put together by God that mankind should not separate. Divorce happens as often as some people change clothes, and the pain and destruction caused by it have long-lasting effects. A marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman that love and respect each other. The man should love his wife like Christ loves the Church. He should lead his household in the ways of God and cherish his wife. The woman should also love her husband and live submissively before him and before God (Ephesians 5:22-33). These gender roles are not archaic. These roles were designed by God, and when we follow them, we demonstrate faithfulness to God, a love for one another, and a strength that goes unmatched.
Fulfilling our roles as husband and wife better prepares us for the journey that is parenting. We are to train up our children in the Lord (Proverbs 22:6). Notice that the Bible teaches us that parents are supposed to be the ones in charge. Children are to be obedient to their parents, and as parents, we are to lead them in the ways of God (Ephesians 6:1-4). While discipline is never fun or enjoyable, it is necessary so that we can lead our children towards a life of making righteous decisions (Hebrews 12:7-11).
As Christians and as parents, we cannot let the world dictate how our children are going to be raised, nor can we let them dictate how we serve the Lord our God. The world may make fun of us for our choices and attack us for our faith, but we must always stand with the Lord and be ready to defend our faith and the family.