Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 1:11-17 "GREAT ADVICE FOR BRINGING UP CHILDREN"
Day 12 – Luke 1
Text: Luke 1:11-17
GREAT ADVICE FOR BRINGING UP CHILDREN
The angel Gabriel did more than just announce the birth of John the Baptizer! He also gave great advice to Zacharias concerning how he may bring John up!
Young parents soak up advice given to them by their friends, whether older ones or their peers. Most advice given concerns the physical well being of children! Some words of advice are of doubtful value.
The angel Gabriel’s advice is significant, because he came from the Lord and represented Him! His advice is, not surprisingly, concerning the moral and spiritual upbringing of John. Have we neglected this part in the upbringing of children?
“HE SHALL DRINK NEITHER WINE NOR STRONG DRINK” Luke 1:15
This advice is not so much dietary as it was a word to Zacharias that his son, John , would be a special child totally dedicated to the Lord! In the Old Testament, there was provision made for people who took up special vows. This particular vow reminds us of what is commonly called The Nazarite Vow (Num. 6:1-21). This vow could either be a permanent one or a temporary one. Either way, as long as the vow is taken, the person must not imbibe strong drink. This vow expresses total dedication to the Lord!
The Nazarite Vow is no longer applicable today. There were few who kept the Nazarite Vow. The most famous person who kept the Nazarite Vow was Samson. He too was supposed to be totally dedicated to the Lord so that he could function as a Judge and a Deliverer for ancient Israel. Unfortunately, he failed miserably as a Judge. It was by the Lord’s mercies that he was even called a Judge of Israel!
Though the Nazarite Vow is not something we can apply today, nevertheless we are reminded of the need to bring up our children with moral and spiritual integrity! How important it is to bring up children who know that they belong to the Lord in a special way. How wonderful it would be if parents are reminded of the sacred task that is theirs in the bringing up of their children to be servants of His!
“HE WILL ALSO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, EVEN FROM HIS MOTHER’S WOMB” Luke 1:15
The Scriptures always surprise us, especially when it comes to the question of God’s involvement in our life. We are sometimes puzzled as to why the Spirit of God would fill the little baby growing in his mother’s womb! What would John know about the Holy Spirit? How would he be able to relate to the Spirit of God? Things like that tend to puzzle us.
There are many times when we read the Scriptures, and we are humbled indeed! We have to admit that we do not fully understand just why and how the Spirit of God can be involved in the life of a little baby! Nevertheless, we read of the Holy Spirit’s involvement in the life of Baby John!
There are some who cannot fathom why we practise paedo baptism either! The view is that since a child cannot understand salvation, one should wait until he is old enough to believe and then he may opt for “believer’s baptism”.
Consider again the importance of the words of the angel Gabriel! The Holy Spirit will actually fill the life of Baby John, even though he is still in the mother’s womb! This is not the only passage that teaches us that God is involved in the lives of babies. Jeremiah the prophet was told that God knew him even before he was born (Cf. Jeremiah 1:5). Similar words were written of the Lord Jesus in prophetic language (Cf.Isaiah 49:1).
The fact is that the Lord is involved in the life of children- even though they may not be fully aware of this fact. Let us stand humbled that the Lord would involve Himself in the lives of little ones!
HOW ARE WE BRINGING UP OUR CHILDREN?
Let us be challenged to include God into the lives of our children. Let us believe that God can be and wants to be involved in the upbringing of our children! Let us begin to be more prayerful with reference to how we bring up our children! By all means, let us give the best that we can offer to our children. However, let us not neglect to do the most important thing – to bring up our children in the fear of the Lord. May the Lord bless our children, for His Name’s sake!