Day 372 · Year 2 · Life with God
Without provoking them
Paul speaks to fathers, and to anyone shaping young hearts.
Today's passage
Ephesians 6:4
4Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Paul gives two sides of the same coin. Do not provoke your children — that is, do not use your authority in ways that wound them. And do bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord — that is, do not abdicate either. Parenting in Christ is neither tyranny nor passivity. Most of us err on one side. The Lord is patient with parents the same way he is patient with us, and he is also clear: small humans absorb both the love and the wounds of the people God put over them. Ask him for help.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
John Chrysostom · Latin & Eastern Doctors · 4th–5th c. · Antioch/Constantinople
John Chrysostom preached often on the home, calling parents the first pastors of their children and urging gentle, intentional formation in the Scriptures from earliest years.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What does Paul forbid, and what does he command, in this verse?
- What is the difference between provoking and disciplining?
- Where do you most need to grow as someone shaping young hearts?
A prayer to pray
Bring your children — or the young people God has put near you — to him by name. Ask him for the patience you do not have on your own.