Raising Boys: Part 2

     What was God thinking when he created the heart of a boy - the heart of a man? What were His intentions? How did He fashion them to think and act and speak - to live?

     The first person I am going to look at, in the Bible, is Jesus. He of course was spoken of many time before being born - prophets and many others were given that insight. His parents knew of who Jesus was going to be even before He was born - Mary before He was conceived and Joseph after being conceived.

     "The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.' Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.'...'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May your word to me be fulfilled.' Then the angel left her." (Luke 1:27-38)

     "...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'...When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife." (Matthew 1:20-24)

     God entrusted Jesus to Joseph and Mary. They were informed of who he was going to be, and their job was to follow through. As simple as that was written and as simple as it sounds, we all know that the day-to-day responsibility of being faithful and obedient is a delicate matter. It takes great endurance and humility to walk a narrow road - a road of righteousness and holiness. The only way in which that can happen is a surrendered and willing heart. Joseph and Mary were of that caliber - only by God's grace and mercy - nothing  of their own doing.

    As parents, we are entrusted with a similar mandate - raise them according to how God has fashioned them. God has made a promise to know each one of these precious children - us included - to the extent of ordaining days and knowing every hair, thought, action, and word.

     "You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain...For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!..." (Psalm 139)

     Prayerfully and humbly, let us continue bringing our sons to God, asking for guidance, wisdom, and discernment. Raising them is a big responsibility, and with God we will do a good job in training them up in the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven. God knows how He wants them raised, so all we need to do is keep asking for help; God will always answer when we ask, knock, and seek. His promises are sure.

     Stay tuned for more to come...

     Be blessed and endure. Christ's return is nearing. May God give you all strength and grace to overcome - wisdom and discernment.

    For fun, an excerpt from "Bringing Up Boys" by Doctor James Dobson: "'Don't let the kids put those beans up their noses.' Bad advice! As soon as their mom's back was turned, they stuffed their nasal passages with beans. It was impossible for my grandmother to get them out, so she just left them there. A few days later, the beans began to sprout. Little green shoots were actually growing out their nostrils."