July 2
2 Kings 20:1-22:2 | PS 150:1-6 | Prov 18:9-10 | Acts 21:18-36
When it comes to family relationships we don't really make many choices. We get to choose our spouse, and we get to a make a choice to follow God. But, we don't get to choose our parents, our children, our siblings, our cousins, etc. We can raise them, influence them, submit to them, but we don't choose them. Yet, when these relationships don't go as planned in our own minds, often despondency is the result. Some live by the adage, "You are only as happy as your least happy kid". As parents, we have all been given an instruction manual, the Bible. Most ignore it. The other day speaking to a patient of mine, she lamented over the events of the past year. She lost her father, had difficulty with her mother, her teenage son was suffering from depression/anxiety, and her daughter, who was younger than a teenager, was questioning whether she was lesbian or bisexual. My patient was Jewish and secular. I asked her about faith, and tried to discuss God with her, but she was not at all interested. I explained that my ancestry was mostly German. I explained that if I was born in the 1920's to 1930's in Germany, that the society would have taught me to treat the Jewish people poorly, as disgusting as that reality was. We both agreed how wrong and terrible that was. I explained that for true Evangelical Christians, raised in God's Word, it would be unthinkable to be anti-Semitic. I then pointed to the dangers of allowing her to raise her children based on the whims of society. I hope a seed was planted, though no response was apparent.
We read in 2 kings 20:3, "“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly." This was true. Hezekiah was certainly one of the most godly kings of Judah. He sought God, and praised him publicly. He chose God. But he did not choose his son, nor did his son choose him, as we read of Manasseh in 21:2-6, "And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger." At face value, this disparity seems unthinkable. Such a godly father matched with such a godless son. Some will read into it and question if Hezekiah was too wrapped up in the monarchy, or some other psychological reason. The truth is, both did not choose each other, even if Hezekiah did his best to raise him to love and follow God.
Back to my patient above. She has a choice. She can either raise her children under the banner of society or under the banner of God. You can't do the latter unless you actually know God through His Word. Even if one does raise a child up in the Word it does not guarantee that the child will make the choice to follow God. We must never forget this. We, who are parents, are tasked with the raising of our children. We can either plant seeds of God's Word, or try to assimilate our children into the godless culture we find ourselves in. This is a choice. We can not take this responsibility lightly. But, then our children also have a choice, whether to follow God or society.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: