By David ReayWednesday 8 Apr 2020LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits. (THE MESSAGE)
We may sometimes hear of people who have firmly rejected the Christian faith even though they have been raised in Christian households. People reject the faith for all sorts of reasons and we must emphatically assure parents that if their children do so reject the faith they must not immediately heap blame on themselves. Children need to make their own decisions regarding faith and not just absorb it by some mysterious family osmosis.
But it can be sadly true that some parents have made it much more likely that their children will turn away. Those who communicate a harsh, legalistic sort of faith should not be surprised at such rejection. An extreme fundamentalism can breed an extreme reaction. A parent who is dictatorial, a church which is controlling, can turn a person off Jesus.
It is certainly good that we cling to the fundamentals of our faith and not succumb to every cultural turning of the tide. But a rigid sort of fundamentalism which has no room for debate or questioning or differences of opinion will alienate those we are seeking to attract. Swing the pendulum to religious bigotry and you can safely bet the pendulum will swing back in the direction of atheistic dogmatism.
Even as we hold firm to the fundamentals, we must do so with grace and love. People will always be free to reject Jesus. But it may it not be because of our distorted witness to him.
Blessings
David