But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
—Joshua 24:15
Joshua began with himself. “As for me and my house.” We cannot too strongly express the truth that for godly training the first and most essential requirement is personal consecration. It is good to reflect on our responsibility, to speak with our children, and to pray for them—but all these are only accessories. The first thing on the part of the parent is a life devoted to God and His service. It is this that creates the spiritual atmosphere the children are to breathe. It is this that gives our performance of duty and our dealings with our children their spiritual influence. It is this that gives our praying and our working its value with God.
“As for me,” there must be no hesitation or half-heartedness in our confession of devotion to God’s service. As often as the prayer for God’s blessing on the children comes up, it must be in the spirit of David: “Therefore now let it please Thee to bless the house of Thy servant” (1 Chronicles 17:27). With God and men, in the home and out of it, as well as in the hearts of parents themselves, it must be a settled thing: “As for me, I will serve the Lord.”
Excerpt taken from Raising your Children for Christ by Andrew Murray. This excerpt can be found in Chapter 15. Public Domain.