Train Up A Child

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (KJV)

He was barely seven when he arrived one recent morning at the building site (a project of our church to build a home for a needy family). He had his little tool box in hand, a bottle of water, a nail apron provided by a local building supply company, and a smile as wide as his face.

Quickly, he started shovelling dirt into a wheelbarrow. That's what an adult was doing. When he got his shovel so full that he could not lift it, his daddy loving and quietly helped him lift it. The wheelbarrow was soon filled, and little Jimmy jumped between the handles and prepared to roll it away, but obviously he could not move it.

I watched from a distance and wondered why the good father did not get the kid out of the way of progress. Instead, he walked up behind Jimmy, lifted the wheelbarrow, and together, they rolled it to the proper location, with the daddy being very careful to allow Jimmy to carry as much weight as he possibly could.

I saw a child off the streets, not bogged down in questionable television programs, building a priceless relationship with his daddy. I saw a daddy who loved his son so much that what the rest of us thought did not matter to him. He was busy "training a child" — he will never regret it, and the child will never forget it!

Prayer: Father God, you love us as children. Help us to love each child like You love us. May our love include teaching them to love You by word and example. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share this devotional on Facebook     Like PresbyCan on Facebook