Parents, children and genealogies

What do the genealogies in Scripture teach us about parenting? Come to think of it, what do they teach us about anything?!

The latter is a question I’ve pondered often, tempted – to my shame – to discard them as of little importance in the grand scheme of Scripture (despite my head knowledge that all Scripture is given by inspiration and is profitable).

But it’s taken half a century to have a light-bulb moment. And an important one. So important I want to share it with you, dear parent.

Two things happened to me recently on consecutive days. First, I was struck by a brief anecdote from Bible teacher John MacArthur in a message I was listening to on my daily dog walk. One day after a morning service, his great-grandchildren were running around and clutching his legs and someone commented about what a terrible time it is to be bringing up children.

No, responded MacArthur. Their time is now. So simple, but so true. My children, your children, were born at the exact right time, their time in history. How can we be confident in this? Because the Lord is sovereign and His timing is perfect.

Secondly, I happened to start reading Matthew’s Gospel the next day – which begins with the genealogy of Jesus, covering the generations from Abraham right through to the Messiah. I read with fresh eyes, recalling MacArthur’s anecdote. Each man and woman referred to by name in that genealogy was born at the perfect time in history, playing a part in God’s plan of salvation and culminating in Jesus’ birth.

The same sovereign God who placed Abraham, Ruth and Solomon in their time in ‘His Story’ is the same God who placed you and me, and our own children, in our time in history – for a purpose.

There’s something else. I wondered why Matthew chose to intersperse the genealogy with a specific event – the deportation to Babylon. This is a reference to when Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon and its citizens taken captive. This was a historically seismic event by man’s standards, but not for the Lord – the line of David that ended with Jesus’ birth was not broken, because that was not the Lord’s plan.

Today, we are living in a time when our children are under huge spiritual and cultural attack. To be taught and to believe Scriptural standards of morality is to be bigoted; society has become lovers of self rather than lovers of God; to call sin out publicly can cost us our jobs; our very identity as men and women is under attack; the vast majority of today’s children know Jesus’ name as a mere swear word.

But Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. The same God who protected His people from Creation through to David and then through to Jesus is the same God who protects His children today. Now is their God-appointed time. If we recognise this truth, we can be confident God will guide and shelter them as they navigate these tumultuous times.

So where does this leave us as parents? It should be a wake-up call prompting us to regularly and consistently teach our children solid Biblical truths that provide the foundation they need to grow and mature and prepare for life in this ungodly age. They need to be adequately equipped to respond to the messages of today, from those lauding homosexual lifestyles through to the trans agenda and gender issues and abortion.

But most importantly, we need to saturate them with the gospel message, showing them their personal need of salvation. We must pray earnestly for their salvation. Only then will they be equipped to go out into the world and share the gospel, the hope of salvation from their sinful lifestyles.

Today is undoubtedly a tough time to be raising children. It’s also a challenging time for children themselves, growing up with the pressures they are under. But our God is the same God who protected, guided and raised up men and women throughout history, and He will not fail us today.

He has gifted our children to us, in this age, for a reason. It is their time.