Linda had a Christmas lunch at school and invited me to it.
I arrived a bit early and sat in the cafeteria while she finished up with the Pre-K class.
I know a few of the children in her class but seeing all of them together eating lunch brought back a flood of memories from my own childhood.
I began to remember sitting in lunch back at Highlands Elementary. I thought of some friends I haven’t thought of in decades.
Watching the interaction between the teachers and students reminded me of my dear teachers; Mrs. Johnston, Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Thomas, my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade teachers.
Then I thought about what each child would do in the future.
Each of them are very sweet and innocent right now but as they grow and become more independent they’ll start making their own decisions.
Many of those decisions will be wrong.
Though I’m not making any prophecy, perhaps in the group is a future Senator.
The class may have a preacher, deacon, or Sunday school teacher.
Maybe a school teacher is among them or a college professor.
One may get a Master’s and another, a Doctorate.
Then there may be some that get involved in drinking or drugs.
Some will take up smoking.
There will be those that will never say an unkind word and others will pick up harsh words and language.
I pray that each one will someday receive Jesus as Savior, but I know that many will not. They will never step in church, never read a Bible, and never pray.
I could quote the most well known scripture on child-rearing, that being Proverbs 22:6, but I want to go a different direction this morning.
The Abrahamic covenant is one between his family and God. Abraham was instructed to circumcise the male children born into his family.
God said, “He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.” Gen 17:13-14
It’s not the circumcision of the flesh that I want to talk about, it’s the circumcision of the heart.
Too many of our children do not have the world “cut away” from them.
Their parents don’t take away the evils but rather teach them by living many of them.
Many children live daily in an abusive household. They are told they are worthless, a mistake, useless, stupid; verbally, physically, and psychologically abused.
Much of the problem of children is the problem of parents.
In Acts 7:51, Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit, said, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”
I heard James Dobson say one time, “A generation of half believers will produce a generation of non-believers!”
His words are true.
We must break the curse of uncircumcised hearts.
We must pray for children.
Pray for your children, your grandchildren, your neighbor’s children, the children that come to church; pray for them all!