19th November

Christian education

A lot is spoken about modern methods to waken and develop children's spirit by respecting their personality. It is said that we should neither impose on them the ways of thinking and expressing of adults nor let them learn off by heart and repeat like parrots what they are supposed to discover themselves.

Fact is that there is room for a balanced education between treating children as adults prematurely and putting everything at the child's level by what we risk to have adults who stayed children. The real educators have always used this education by putting themselves to the range of the young people but without weakening a warm and righteous authority. Actual laxity of parent's authority is certainly a fearsome danger for our civilization.

If Christian parents give up the authority which God confered them with they disobey the prescriptions of God's Word (Ephesians 6, 4). If they love their children do they not wish to influence them with this word? We cannot convert our children; their faith has to be a personal faith in Jesus Christ who is individually known. Every child needs to meet Jesus himself. However, the job of the parents is to prepare such a meeting by "instilling" to them the words of scripture.