Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 ESV
When my grandson was 18 months old he was in that stage where he imitated everything he saw or heard. If you put your hand in the air, so did he. If you laughed, so did he. If you gave a thumbs up, so did he. If you said hello, he tried to imitate it too. Though it didn’t come out quite right, you knew what he was trying to say. I’m not always sure he knew what all the actions or words meant, but in time he figured it out. It was sweet to watch him learn and grow in his abilities and vocabulary.
I take being a grandparent seriously. I sense a keen responsibility to invest time and attention in my grandchildren so they can become the happy, successful, Christlike adults I want them to become.
The same is true in how I view the new believers around me. Those of us who have been Christians for a long time bear a great responsibility to guide and mentor new believers as they stumble through those first awkward stages of faith. They may not always say it right, or do things right, but if we have patience and a little faith, we can help them become the mature believers they need to be.
Lord, give me patience with the new believers You have put around me. Help me encourage them in their faith journey by setting a godly example for them to follow. Amen.
Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves at the Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of New England. He has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:
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