Our parents and our image of GodA Letter: The 2nd Commandment has meaning many of us are totally unaware of. God designed the family and intended that through observing the Image of God enacted in the lives of mother and father, the child forms his or her understanding and image of God in their innermost self. When parents put forth a false image of God, one that is selfish, unreasonable and arbitrary, or sometimes even heartless and cruel--the child is badly damaged in his spiritual life forever, unless he himself learns on his own the real character of God and can, by God's grace change his inner views. This is why the 2nd commandment talks about: "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." The iniquity of the parents that is visited on the children is this putting forth of a false image of God to the children. Idol worship of course does the same thing, but the iniquity of the parents is more often happening right in our own homes- 'Christian' homes! This is why there is such a problem to people who have had parents who put across a selfish and unreliable image to their children.
The secret of having obedience in a child is that
the child has to be able to feel that the parent has the
child's best good at heart and really cares and unselfishly loves
him. When a parent demonstrates selfish behavior,
unreasonable behavior or the child sees he is so changeable from one
day to the next, he can't know what to expect--the pattern
is formed in the child's mind that the parent is only interested in
his own self and the child can't trust him to make choices for his
best good--only for the parent's convenience!!
Then obedience is not desirable for the child--he feels he has to
fight for his rights, as it were, to survive. As soon as he can he
does his own thing. Rebelliousness becomes part of his very
character and grows up with him.
Because the child forms his image of God from
what his parents are--this carries through into adulthood and causes
the person to feel rebellious against God, because he finds
it very hard to realize that God, unlike his parents, is totally
unselfish and NEVER will order anything that is not for the BEST
GOOD of the person. He never orders anything just to show
His 'authority'. He always guides in the way we ourselves would
choose if we knew the outcome which He knows. It takes a lot of
personal interaction with God and effort on the part of the person
raised by such parents to get rid of the idea that God is just
arbitrary and wants to use us for His own ends or punish us to force
His will upon us to hurt us or stop us from being happy. This is the
iniquity that carries through to the children.
I heard a true story that happened to a man
captured and held for ransom with a large group of people in South
America. The captors had announced that in a day or so they were
going to release one group and let them go home, while the other
group stayed captive. This man was in the group they said they were
going to release.
He was a Christian and God impressed him
strongly, "See that person over there in the other group? You ask to
change places with him, he is sick, let him go with your group."
Well this guy refused and accused God saying "You just want
to keep me here forever! I won't do it. I am going home!"
This happened 4 times that day, God impressed him really clear, and
each time the man rebelled.
Then when the day came the captors were going to
release his group, they just laughed and said--"we changed our
mind--the other group is going home--you guys are staying here!"
The man was devastated! He realized that God was
not trying to do something bad to him but had his own best good in
what He asked. That man was a long time and went through much
suffering before he finally got free.
This has helped me a lot to understand my
struggles of the past-Why I was up and down like a toilet seat--I
was never converted as that false pattern was in me- it was
only as I began to actually learn about God's character, and I began
to change my picture of Him--then I was able to be
converted for the first time-and I have never, by His grace,
backslid since that knowledge became a part of me. At first it was
just rudimentary, but as it grows more and more, my Christian walk
becomes closer and closer to Him.
Dearly beloved; If you has been putting forth a false image of God to your family, or children--the only answer is to confess and pray for forgiveness and power to live the Christ-life before all. YES--and confess to your children too! whether they are toddlers of adults with children of their own--repent and confess humbly asking for forgiveness and to work together to live the right image of Jesus. That is the only way the MERCY that is promised can start breaking the chains of that iniquity that carries on down the generations-- the only way to heal the riffed false images create in the soul!
God Bless and guide you as you grow to know Him
for real.
|
