Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. – Colossians 3:20-21

Scripture reading: Proverbs 6:20-23

What does having put off the old self and being renewed after the image of God look like for fathers and children? What implications do Christ being all and in all have for them as members of the body of Christ?

Children are to obey their parents, accept their authority, listen to them and do what they are asked to do in everything. They are always to obey, unless what they are being asked to do is against God’s Word. This obedience should be natural for children because without their parents they would not exist. Moreover, parents daily provide them with the necessities of life. But while obedience to parents should be natural for children, they should also obey because God has invested authority in their parents. They are one of God’s primary means to teach them how to be wise in life, beginning with the fear of the LORD.

When children obey their parents, this is pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ because this is what having put off your old self and being renewed in knowledge after the image of God looks like in your life.

Fathers (and mothers) are not to provoke their children by demanding too much of them. They are called to be patient with them, bear with them and forgive them. When parents fail to do this, their children run the risk of becoming resentful and angry. The result can be that children give up on obeying their parents because their spirits are broken. No matter how hard they try, it is never good enough.

Suggestions for prayer

Ask your heavenly Father that all parents and children would be given the grace to please the Lord Jesus Christ.

This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC.