I found an interesting piece of Cain's story in Genesis 4:17. After Cain has murdered his brother Abel and become a wanderer he tries to settle down. He has a son, Enoch and then builds a city for him. There is not much more said in the scripture about this piece of the story, but my mind begins to wonder why he built a city for his son?
That is a pretty nice gift to give your child. There is no way my kids will receive a city from me. Not that I don't want to give them one. I mean I want to give them the world, but I just can't. Where I finally felt this question lead me to was that Cain, the wanderer, did not want his son to be a wanderer. He wanted more for his son, then what he had. So he built his son a city so that he will always have a place to stay and he won't have to wander. I think that makes sense and a reasonable person might do the same thing.
However since I know Cain's story (Genesis 4:1-16) I know he is not a wanderer because he did not have a city or home of his own. He did have a place to live until he made some bad choices and was cursed by God to become a wanderer. He murdered his brother, lied to God and was sent from God's presence. He was a wanderer because his relationship with God and others had been broken. He seems to think building a city will fix this problem.
As parents we do often want to give our children what we did not have. We want to fix the problems of our childhood by giving our children all the things we never had. I do not think this is completely a bad thing, but I sometimes doubt that is the appropriate way to solve the issues we are trying to solve. Cain tried to solve a spiritual issue with a physical gift. Instead of trying to solve a spiritual issue with a spiritual gift. What if instead of a city he had built his son a sanctuary? What if he gave his son a place to build a good relationship with God and maybe even to mend his broken relationship.
As parents, I believe we can really bless our children by giving them a gift we have in our relationship with God. Of course, we cannot just hand them this gift, but we can pass it on to them by living our faith in front of them. We can pass it on by reading the Bible with them, asking questions about what God is doing in this world, and letting them know why we love and serve God. If our faith is important to us, it can become important to them.
As parents you should be the primary faith giver to your children. The church can help, but it is up to you to live it each day.
We are now finishing our series on parenting, but keep talking with others about raising our children and be encouraged that God has called you to raise your children. Let me know if you have questions of how to pass on your faith more effectively or any other parenting questions. I know the task is not easy, but through Christ we can do all things.
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7 comments:
Can anyone recommend a good children's bible for ages 7 & 8? My adult bible might as well be in Spanish and so I think the our household could get a lot out of a children's bible as silly as it is! Thanks!
Jamie
Jamie-Read with Me Bible by zonderkidz is good for 4-8 year olds. The International Children's Bible is a good 2nd-5th grade Bible. I also like Max Lucado's Daily Devotional Bible for Young Readers. You can go on Christian Book Distributers and look for kids' Bibles there. Hope that helps!
I've been thinking about this for a little bit and here's a thought. You asked, "What if instead of a city he had built his son a sanctuary?" Since we don't know much about Enoch the man or the city, could it not be possible that this city that was built for him was indeed a sanctuary? Having grown up here in this insulated little community and in our caring, forgiving church, I have always felt this was a type of sanctuary for me. I can pretty much get away with anything here and be forgiven. I was know by everyone as a child and tolerated by all who knew me. It was that whole "it takes a village" thing. And within that village, I always found my own sanctuary in knowing that God was here. Right here. In Ruth's face as she asked me how I was doing. In Esther's butter cookies left on the doorstep of my apartment. In my friend David sharing scripture every day he was stationed in the Air Force. In the theological "discussions" my friend Sandy I would have late at night. In the prayers Aunt Nellie would send up for me when I was lost. I know the first line of responsibility is the parent but we are all a part of the process. And little Owen Becker's baptism yesterday is just another reminder of that.
Jeanie, I agree. The city could have been a sanctuary. We are not told much about it and that is where my thoughts turned.
I think it does take a village to raise our children, but I also do not want let parents off the hook. It feels at times that parents expect the church to be the only place children grow spiritually. As you described we learn spiritual lessons everywhere in life.
You are right on, James. As much as we want a world community, the buck needs to stop with the parents. There are spiritual lessons in everything, we just need to have our parents point them out to us! Even now with both my parents gone, I often reflect on what would my mom have done or said; how would Dad handle this person? It's all about accountability.
Yesterday I wrote on my big kid's hands, "God talk loud". It was just a reminder to them to ask God to talk loud enough for them to hear and help them make good decisions for the day. They were both very proud of their markings and gladly told others to do the same!
Very cool Jamie.
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