Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
—Ephesians 5:1
Since we have given our children to the Lord, let us use this act of consecration as a motive to faithfully discharging our duties. We easily become distracted by the pressing business of life and the spirit of the world all around us. Consecrated training requires complete devotion in daily life. Let us look at our children in the light of this great transaction with God—I have given my child to the Lord. This reminder can stir us to greater diligence, to faith, and to prayer.
Let us especially act under the influence of this motive as we think of the profession for which we are educating our child. God needs servants for His temple. Let us ask Him what place He has for each child in His Kingdom. If this thought motivated each parent who has given his child to God, a far greater number of young Christians would grow up to work for God. If all the children whose parents profess to have consecrated them to God were really brought up that way, we would have no shortage of believers to take their place in the service of God. We need more consecrated parents like Hannah and more children receiving consecrated education like Samuel’s. May God by His Holy Spirit teach us the full meaning and power of the words we use! “I have given my child to be the Lord’s as long as he lives.”
Excerpt taken from Raising your Children for Christ by Andrew Murray. This excerpt can be found in Chapter 17. Public Domain.