A Parent's Lament: My Children Have Left the Faith

 

My apologies to those of you who have followed my blog over the years. I was stricken with Covid back in October, spent 30 days in the hospital, and now I am home trying to get back to full strength. (Appreciate your prayers in that regard.)   

 

Pr 30:11 There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother. 12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. 13 There is a generation-oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. 14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.

I almost didn’t post this today because I know many parents who are experiencing this very thing from their children. I’m not going to throw out a bunch of statistics concerning the numerical growth of the so called “nones” (those with no religious affiliation) because the “nones” that matter most to you and I are the ones in our own families. To a loving parent, one none is too many!

 

I mean what happened? We all sought to “train up our children in the way they should go so that when they grow old they will not depart from the faith.” (Prov 22:6) For some, that training takes, for others it doesn’t.

 

Why have my two adult children embraced the faith and yet my prayer list is rife with the prodigal children of many of my acquaintances? These acquaintances did all the right things, but their children turned away from the faith and many with the vengeance that we sense in the above portion of Scripture. I mean, “cursing mother and father?” “Pure in their own eyes?” “Teeth like swords?” Many of these children have turned into God-haters, instead of God-lovers!

 

I don’t have the answer to that question, but here are some things I do know:

God has not stopped loving them!

Faith is a gift from God!

We all have to work out our salvation, we don’t get to heaven on the coattails of our parents.

It ain’t over till it’s over.

There is no one beyond the reach of God’s mercy.

 

That prodigal matters! Jesus left the 99 to find the one that was in deep trouble! He’s on the trail of your prodigal even as you read this.

I know this to be true because I too, was a “none” before they had such a name. I spurned the God of my youth and sought to live in the ways of the world. But one day I hit rock bottom. This worldly living wasn’t working out.  My “lofty eyes” weren’t so lofty after I was humbled by my second OWI.

Thanks to the prayers of my mother-in-law, my wife, and her church friends, and her incredible godly example, I heard the gospel anew, and the Holy Spirit re-awakened me to the faith of my childhood. All glory to God!

Many of you don’t know what I was like before the Lord got a hold of me the second time, but believe me when I say this: If God could save a wretch like me, He can save anybody, and He will seek to do that. In the meantime, let us continue to pray and live out the example of our loving Savior, trusting God for the results!