A Parent’s Impact

And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Luke 15:20

One writer I read said that the way parents treat their children in daily living has more impact on their children’s spiritual development than the family’s religious practices, including having a family altar, reading the Bible together, and attending church services regularly.

Parenting is a difficult job. But we need to remember that when the rebellious son in Luke 15 came to himself, he found a loving father waiting for him at home. That father had probably made mistakes in his parenting, but he did not stop loving either of his two sons—and the younger son, at least, knew it.

Sometimes the stress of parenting makes us want to stop loving and leave. But if we remain and continue to love, we do more to negate the chances of rebellion in our children than anything we could ever do. May God help us to love our children as He loves us.