HARVESTING THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OUR CHILDREN.

It is another Children and Young Person’s harvest, we give all the glory to our faithful God who counted us all worthy to be part of this celebration. May His name be praised for ever and may our joy over our children never diminish in Jesus name. God, the giver of all good gifts, gave our children to us because of His usual generosity to mankind. Behold children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. – Psalm 127: 3. Without His blessings all efforts to be blessed with the fruit of the womb would have been in vain. We pray that God would visit all those that are still trusting Him for this kind of blessing in Jesus name.

God is more than a giver. He does not just give. He is also a sower. A sower is full of expectations, especially on results of what the seed (s) sown produces at the end of a particular Season. He desires that all godly parents produce godly Children. Truly, the devil has his agents ever ready to pollute the world including children of believers. Christians must however trust God to help them empower the gifts-Children, committed into their care in such a way that will bring joy to heaven. This is one of the reasons for infant Baptism. Parents and Godparents are not figure-heads but special people who have been saddled with the responsibility of grooming innocent souls into spiritual maturity. With this, our children will not be a mistake to avoid but rather an example to always follow.

Parents, are the first mentors of their children. But they can only give whatever they have. They must therefore, make conscious efforts to plant seeds that will produce fruit of the Spirit in the Children. While the children remain obedient and pray for the spirit and grace to be teachable.

Some of the fruits God desires should manifest in the lives of our Children are as follows. There is The Fruit of Love. Love is the very definition of God. A loving God does not barter or compromise to get the result He knows is best, and neither should a loving parent. Our position is to lead our children, not the other way around. When we refuse to give in to the pressure of granting their every whim, but instead stand firm, respect and love will be the fruit harvested.

There is also the Fruit of Faithfulness. Our children always to know that we are always there for them no matter what. We show faithfulness by being available to them, and by being faithful to God. We harvest faithfulness when our children begin to speak of the faithfulness of God in our homes, and seek to live out their faithfulness to Him as well. If we do not teach our children to be faithful through our faithful lifestyle, we will have regrets in years to come.

The Fruit of Kindness. Our world now hates the subject of kindness. Many give all sorts of excuses so as to avoid being kind to others. Some do this out of the ignorance that what they have will not be sufficient for them after they might have given some out. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each another, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4: 32). Being kind to our children, engaging in opportunities to serve, and showing them that life is not all about us will help to instill in them a desire to be kind, to serve, and respect others. And finally, the Fruit of Self-Control.

A parent’s responsibility is to discipline, and as parents, self-control should be modeled in all areas. This should be demonstrated through disciplinary actions. Bad behavior warrants reasonable and consistent consequences. While good behavior should reasonably rewarded. Godly discipline helps develops a self-controlled, obedient heart. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. (Proverbs 15: 32).

All these and many more are God’s expectations from us. What steps have we taken as Parents and Children in making the expectations of the Master about our family a reality? If we have not done well, today is an opportunity to ask God to grant us the courage to do the needful as we celebrate another harvest.

God bless you.