Daily Devotions
Ephesians
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."
Text: Ephesians 6:1
A FATHER’S HEART
Did Paul have a ministry to children? Though the Scriptures are silent concerning the extent of his ministry to children, we can at least safely say, that children were not excluded from his apostolic and pastoral purview.
From the following texts, we catch a glimpse of a tender fatherly disposition of the apostle Paul.
1. Paul as a spiritual father to Timothy
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you…
But you know his proven character, that as a son
with his father he served with me in the gospel.
PHILIPPIANS 2:19, 22
2. Paul, as a spiritual father in general ministry
But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother
cherishes her own children,
So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased
to impart to you not only the gospel of God,
but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.
1 THESSALONIANS 2:7-8
WELL-QUALIFIED TO WRITE TO CHILDREN
Paul has not intimated that he had children of his own. However, he was more than happy to mention that he found in Timothy and Titus, as his true sons. He wrote two tender and personal epistles to them, addressing them as “true sons” .
To Timothy, a true son in the faith…
1 TIMOTHY 1:2
To Titus, a true son in our common faith…
TITUS 1:4
STRAIGHTFORWARD APPROACH
How did Paul communicate with children? He seemed to have adopted the following approaches:-
1. “Children”
He addressed them directly. He seemed to have had some rapport with his younger readers.
2. “Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right”
He carried on in the same forthright vein. He addressed what he knew was one of the most common but difficult problems to resolve- that of obedience. How should children relate to their parents? In capsule form, the operative word was “obedience”.