There is no financial reward in being a parent. Rather parents are made to give. One parent complained he now knew what "C.O.D." meant: Collect On DAD. Fatherhood cost God His only begotten Son, and it will cost earthly parents nearly everything. The Bible says: For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children (2 Corinthians 12:14). That is why when one chooses to be a parent, he must be ready to give his all. To do any less is inadequate.
This does not mean parents should give the child everything he wants. Sometimes the best course is to withhold something from the child. The maxim is still true: "Give a hungry man a fish, and he will hunger again. Teach him how to fish, and he will never hunger." Thus, when we say parents are to give, we mean they are to be selfless. Their children come before their own pleasure and prestige. The children are not trophies in the parents' showcases but individuals to love and cherish. Even in discipline, a parent must be giving, taking care that he is correcting the child and not merely punishing him for getting on the parent's nerves.
Releasing a child into the world takes a good deal of faith. Parents may have provided the best of homes and still see a son or daughter rebel. Jesus told of such a family, that of the prodigal son. Children still have a free choice either to accept or reject Jesus Christ. However, we can do much to prepare the soil for the seed of the Gospel. Loving children come from giving homes.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 KJV
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