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Parents:
~Jeffrey R. Holland  I speak carefully and lovingly to any of the adults, parents or otherwise, who may be given to cynicism or skepticism, who in matters of whole-souled devotion always seem to hang back a little. To all such, I say, please be aware that the full price to be paid for such a stance does not always come due in your lifetime. No, sadly, some elements of this can be a kind of profligate national debt,.  with payments coming out of your children’s and grandchildren’s pockets in far more expensive ways than you ever intended it to be.
No child should be left with uncertainty about his or her parents’ devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Parents simply cannot flirt with skepticism or cynicism, then be surprised when their children expand that flirtation in to full-blown romance. If in matters of faith and belief children are at risk of being swept downstream by this intellectual current or that cultural rapid, we as their parents must be more certain than ever to hold to anchored, It won’t help anyone if we go over the edge with them, explaining through the roar of the falls No, we can hardly expect the children to get to shore safely if the parents don’t seem to know where to anchor their own boat. Isaiah once used a variation on such imagery when he said of unbelievers, “[Their] tacklings are loosed; they could not. . . strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail.” I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect. We can be reasonably active [churchgoers], but if we do not live lives of gospel integrity* and convey to our children powerful heartfelt convictions regarding the truthfulness of the [gospel], To lead a child (or anyone else!), even inadvertently, away from faithfulness, away from loyalty and bedrock belief simply because we want to be clever or independent is license no parent nor any other person has ever been given. Moms and dads can do everything right and yet have children who stray. Moral agency still obtains. But even in such painful hours it will be comforting for you to know that your children knew of your abiding faith in Christ.
Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can.
Carl Sandburg once said, “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.” As parents we can hold life together. . . with love and faith, passed on to the next generation, one child at a time.  Prodigal: The Rest of the Story A Shepherd's Journey: A parable with 6 days of discussion topics A standard* for your teenagers See Also A Mother's Letter to her Daughter Internal Government Your guide to character building in young adults How to Make a Conversation Wheel |
unmistakable moorings clearly recognizable to those of our own household.
all the way down that we really did know [the truthfulness of the gospel.]
then those children may, to our regret but not surprise, turn out not to be visibly active [churchgoers], or anything close to it.
In matters of religion a skeptical mind is not a higher manifestation of virtue than is a believing heart. [Any] such deviation from the true course can be deceptively slow and subtle in its impact.
and know all the evils that can deflect its course after it has left our hand, nevertheless we take courage in remembering that the most important mortal factor in determining that arrow’s destination will be the stability, strength, and unwavering certainty of the holder of the bow.