Friday; July 28

Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been the parents of Jesus?  Going into the pregnancy Joseph and Mary knew that this was something special – literally something “holy”.  Jesus’ birth was proclaimed by a heavenly host and His early life drew the attention of wise men from afar and the local ruler.  By the time He was an adolescent He knew the focus of His life was going to be to doing His “Father’s business”.  It must have really weighed on a couple of humans to rear the Son of God, but in the end, it appears that they did a good job.  In fact, a summary of Jesus’ early life succinctly said, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52)
There is a lot of talk about the way we should be raising our children in today’s environment, but if it was good enough for God’s Son, shouldn’t it be good enough for modern children of God?  When we study the parenting of Joseph and Mary we find that Jesus had His physical needs provided, He was taught how to think and process the world around Him, He was provided with a spiritual education and He was taught how to get along with others.  In essence, they met His physical, mental, spiritual and social needs.  They provided Him with a balance that would set Him on a track to change the world around Him.
None of us will ever be put in same position as Joseph and Mary, but if God chose them to be the caretakers of His one and only Son, we might be wise to learn from them.  How are we raising our children?
Think About It!

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