You don’t want to provoke your children to anger!
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
It is not always easy being a parent. Provoking your children to anger means you really have upset them. When you provoke your children to anger, you have failed them.
Paul shows us the positive opposite of provoking our children to anger. Our lifestyle and words show that training and instruction in God’s Word are also important in your life. This starts when you find out you are going to be a parent. You pray for your child asking that God’s will be done. After they are born, you have them baptized. Baptism ensures the forgiveness of sin and sets them on the path to heaven.
After baptism you continue to bring them to Jesus, not just send them. Let the Holy Spirit work in their hearts as they are in contact with the means of grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Worship with them and guide them with God’s Law and Gospel.
Imagine all the people in heaven who are so appreciative of their parents who brought them as children to Jesus. The parents told them the Bible accounts about how Jesus loved them so much that he paid for all their sins on the cross and told them how Jesus rose from the grave and that someday they too will rise and enter heaven and be with all believers living in joy and peace forever. That my friends is the opposite of provoking your children to anger.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me as a parent to always let my children see that training and instruction in the Lord are important in my life. Help me be the best Christian example to my children and the people around me. Amen.