4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
–Psalms 127:4 (NASB 1995)
Each child is an arrow in his parents' quiver.
Whenever we fire an arrow, we intend to hit a particular target.
Wherever you are aiming your child, you are likely to hit that target.
But are you aiming at the right objective? Are you even aware you are aiming at all?
At an archery range, everyone wants to hit the bullseye. But what are the chances you will do that by firing in a random direction? Zero, right?
We all know that in order to hit the target you have to aim at it first.
Christian parents will generally say that they want their children to grow up to love Jesus. That is a beautiful target. But do you know how to aim your child at it? Do you know that the details of what it means for each of us to love Jesus are different for every person because He made each person unique?
The best archers are those who have been trained by other great archers. They watch, they listen, and they learn. They seek to emulate their teachers’ methods and results. And they make the choice to do the work required to get better rather than assigning blame when they miss the mark. They know that the result of each shot they take is their responsibility alone.
The finest archers train for a long time. Over many years they deliberately instill in themselves the habits of an effective bow user. They also intentionally set aside any habits that undermine their goal of hitting the target. Everything they do with a bow has a single purpose: Learn to hit the bullseye every time.
In much the same way, effective parents intentionally learn, through careful practice and the mentorship of other parents, how to disciple their kids.
Each child is unique. Each one is meant to be aimed at a unique target in Christ. And to hit a bullseye will require training, encouragement, and consistent effort at aiming on the parents’ part.
As parents, we need to learn who our children are so that we can know where to aim.
Those parents who actively seek to know and live by God’s ways are effective at preparing their children to become the individuals God has made them to be and to live out their destiny as His children.
Such parents spend time in prayer and in God’s Word, learning from the Father who both they and their children are created to be in Him.
Such parents consistently seek wise counsel from other parents who have discipled their children in Christ before them. In this way, they learn good habits that improve their aim.
Such parents choose not to blame others when something goes wrong in their targeting. Rather, they take responsibility for their mistakes and intentionally learn from them, so that they can set aside the bad habits that are pulling them off target.
Such parents are always growing in their ability to effectively point their children in the way they should go.
So, I ask again, are you deliberately aiming your children at the target? Do you even know that you need to do so?
At KAP, we dream of a day when every parent who knows and loves Jesus has access to a discipleship community–a community of believing parents working together to identify the target for each child and to learn how to succeed in hitting it.
We are building those communities one church at a time, one family at a time, and one child at a time.
Come join the adventure…seeking with us how to hit the bullseye God has prepared for your child.
4 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
--Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NASB 1995)