Notes of Faith August 13, 2026
Train Up a Child
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Tradition from the biblical world records a practice of mothers with their newborn infants. To stimulate the nursing reflex, a mother would rub the juice from a crushed date on the lips and palate of the infant to stimulate the sucking reflex. That idea is consistent with the meaning of the Hebrew word for “train up” (or “start”) in Proverbs 22:6. The word for “train up” is also translated as “dedicate”—as in dedicating a house or a temple (Deuteronomy 20:5; Ezra 6:16; 1 Kings 8:63).
Initiate, start, dedicate, train up—all are in the semantic range of meaning when it comes to raising a child so he will not leave the moral and spiritual “way” when he is old. The book of Proverbs suggests two primary means for raising a child in “the way”: instruction and correction (discipline). Instruction identifies the way and starts him on it; correction puts him back on the way should he stray from it.
If you are a parent or grandparent, keep these two priorities in clear focus for the children in your family.
Children need to be trained, not just in the facts of life, but in the ways of life.
Anonymous
Deut 6:4-9
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.
We do not have to teach our children to be disobedient, to be selfish, to sin… This already happens due to their sinful nature. We must teach them of God who created them, loves them more than we do, and desires for them to be like Him in character; holy, loving others, self-sacrificing. When we do our job (for our entire lives) we will see fruit that glorifies God and brings joy to our hearts for generations! Let us not lose heart, but continue to be faithful in teaching our adult children about the heart of God, their need to worship and serve Him with their whole heart and life, all the days of our lives!
Pastor Dale