Hasn’t spring been absolutely beautiful this year? We had an early spring which seemed to last much longer than usual; my tulips and daffodils seemed to bloom for weeks! I love spring! Spring always makes me think of new beginnings! Just like each day, we begin anew. We can confess our sins and start all over, fresh, ready to count for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are living in very exciting times! Where are the Christians who are living their  lives to serve the Lord? We better wake up soon and get very busy telling others about a Savior who died for them on the Cross of Calvary. I know how busy we can get just living day to day, but let’s never forget why we are here – to tell others how they can get to heaven at the end of this life. There is a Heaven and there is a Hell. We are going to die one day; will you be ready for eternity? My prayer for you and those you love is that we all will gather at the end of our lives in Heaven for eternity. John 3:16 & 17 say, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”  

Christian? There is no doubt about it. Psalm 1 begins: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Proverbs 1:10 says, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” In the New Testament we are warned in I Corinthians 15: 33, “Be not deceived, evil communications (company/companions) corrupt good manners.” On the positive side we read in Proverbs 23:26, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” Think through the difference between authority and influence, because grasping the impact of both can make the difference in real success or tragic failure in child rearing. In each of these scripture references the issue is influence, not authority. Authority is my direct control over my child and how I use it is important, but consider the fact, that in due time authority diminishes. When the child is young, he is under the direct and immediate authority of mom or dad, because he is rarely, if ever, out of their presence. Eventually that will change. He may be under the immediate authority of someone else in a baby sitting setting or a classroom. He may have times of playing with friends. He may visit the home of a neighbor or relative. As the child gets older, those times will increase in frequency and duration. In those experiences the direct authority of the parent will be diminished. Sooner than we might wish, the child will mature, moving toward adulthood and independence. Finally parental authority will come to an end. All the while there will have been another power at work in the heart and mind of the child. That power is influence, and as authority diminishes, influence will increase in its ability to sway. Influence comes from many sources, all of which can deeply affect the thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and conduct of the child. Parents, though some try, cannot isolate their children from outside influences. Rather, they must seek to be the greatest human influence in their child’s life. Parents have the authority to make children do right, but influence can steal the heart. More next time.