Leading To Righteousness

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

DANIEL 12:2–3

WHILE MANY RELIGIONS TALK ABOUT PERSONAL SPIRITUAL growth, Christianity stands apart in stressing the glory of helping others grow. In fact, from the world’s viewpoint, that’s the shame of Christianity: “Why can’t you just leave everybody alone instead of always trying to convert us?” we are asked.

The answer is simple: the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20) isn’t merely about being righteous but about leading others to righteousness. And the words spoken to Daniel emphasize this: those who lead many to righteousness “will shine like . . . the stars for ever and ever.”

This call to lead others into holiness provides yet another piece of evidence for the holiness and high calling of family life, as parenting offers one of the most influential and effective ways to lead our children to righteousness. What makes parenting sacred is its God-ordained purpose and God-ordained aim: he calls us to raise children for the glory of God who will faithfully serve God’s kingdom. As we do this, we store up heavenly rewards in which we “will shine like . . . the stars for ever and ever.”

Although we have no greater calling or glory than to lead our children to righteousness, many parents feel tempted to focus on much lesser goals. When I was growing up, I knew of a young man about my age whose father had raised him to be an NFL quarterback. Much was made of the fact that his dad had drilled him for years and that the boy had never eaten a Big Mac. He left college early and entered the NFL, only to quickly fizzle out. His father’s dream died after it came out that the young man had put worse things than a Big Mac (namely, drugs) into his body. He never came close to reaching his potential as an athlete.

Some mothers want to lead their children to great marriages. Others want to lead their children to fame, so they virtually prostitute their early adolescents to the entertainment industry.

But the Bible calls us to lead our children to righteousness. That’s the greatest aim we can ever adopt. God calls us to remain focused on their eternal destiny—far more than we should care about their athletic skills, grade point average, musical ability, manners, and social acceptance.

It strikes me that the Bible’s description of Barnabas—“He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” (Acts 11:24)—gives so little information about him. Was Barnabas a carpenter? A shepherd? A farmer? Were his parents poor or affluent? What color hair did he have? Was he heavy or thin? Did he have a good singing voice? Was he a good athlete?

We don’t know—and on this side of eternity, we never will. In the biblical writer’s eyes, all of that was superfluous. What mattered most was what we’ve been told: he had sterling character, he was filled with God’s Spirit, and he walked by faith. He was a “good” man—end of story. That’s an eternal perspective worth emulating for our own children.

I can’t imagine any more painful ordeal than to watch at the great judgment as one of my children steps up to be treated, as Daniel puts it, with “shame and everlasting contempt.” On the other hand, I can’t imagine a higher joy than to see them “shine like the brightness of the heavens.” Imagine the smile such a heavenly commendation will bring to your face, the glory you will share with your children, the joy that will swell your new and pure spiritual heart!

If we lose sight of that judgment day, we risk missing the ultimate purpose of parenting and thus find we’ve wasted our energy focusing on lesser aims. It’s not that we don’t care about manners, athletics, grades, and social acceptance; but we remember that our greatest call is to lead our children to righteousness. When they stand alone before God, it won’t matter how early in life they were potty trained; we won’t care whether they could run a mile in four minutes or shoot below par in a round of golf; it won’t matter if they earned a six-figure income or died with a six-figure debt or could fit into a size 2 dress. What will matter is that they take their place alongside us in the glorious reality God calls heaven.

Is this your focus today—leading your children to righteousness?

Heavenly Father, thank you for a word that reminds us of what leads to eternal happiness. Help us to focus on those things in our children for which they will be eternally known and rewarded. In Jesus’ name, amen.