Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (EHV)
If life were not hard enough dealing with the challenges that come with having a child with extraordinary needs, then the weight of guilt heaped on from other children can crush the spirit! “You always spend more time with _______.” “You never make time for me!” “We never get to have fun because of _______.” It breaks our hearts as parents when our other children suffer because our attention is on our child with special needs. What hurts the most is the look the other children give you! It’s like a no-win situation. Then the verse for our devotion pierces our hearts.
How are we to juggle all the responsibilities to the children whom God has given us? Being a parent is not easy—especially when you throw special circumstances into it! It is enough to make you throw your hands up in the air and give up. Why does God give us these impossible tasks?
I am reminded of my grandfather. For years I would go and visit with him, and he would teach me valuable lessons about life and the Lord without saying a word. I learned from him what it means to be a Christian husband and father by the way he acted. He was an example to me by displaying Christ’s love in his life as he took care of the responsibilities God placed on him.
As we care for the children God has entrusted to us, we are to bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord—in other words, teach them about God’s love for them in Christ. What better way can we teach our children about God’s love than to put that love into action as we care for them! At times this care will focus on the special circumstances of our children with extraordinary needs, and at times it will be on the other children.
What we are doing is putting God’s love on display. Think about how God displayed his love for all of us when he sent Jesus to die in the place of sinners. He put our needs above his Son’s needs. He put our cares above his Son’s cares. Jesus was willing to humble himself for us. This love is what we are displaying for our children to see, and they will learn from it!
Your children might not appreciate it when they are young, but they are being trained and instructed in the way of the Lord through your example. When they get older, they will appreciate the training and instruction of the Lord that you gave them by being an example for them of God’s love and care. Continue to be who God made you to be, and love your children. In this way, you will be giving them exactly what the Lord wants for them: an example of love that they can display in their lives.
Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for displaying your love to me in your Son Jesus! Help me be an example of love for my children, especially how I care for each of them as they are in need. Let me continue to train and instruct them in your ways so that they can grow in love and in turn, display your love in their lives. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
by Patrick Feldhus