Daily
Devotional

When I was young, I often sat in church with the same group of friends because we were all taken to church by our families. However, we did not always want to be there. Several of these boys were older than me, and whatever foolishness they got away with usually seemed clever to me, so I would give it a try, too. During the altar calls, some in the congregation would be moved by the Spirit and step into the aisle to go forward to the place of prayer. Our group was looking toward the exit. When one began pointing his toe toward the door, meaning “I am out of here,” we all followed him.

Then a marvelous and wonderful thing happened. One of our members had a situation arise that nearly cost him his life. He promised God that if He would spare him, he would serve Him. God answered in a miraculous way. The next Sunday, he was in church and sat with our group, but this time he was listening to the meeting. At the end of the service, his toe pointed toward the altar, not the exit. He prayed that morning and a great change took place in his life! Later, he went out of his way many times to encourage me to find the Lord, and his efforts helped me see the advantage of being a Christian. It took a while, but eventually I, too, headed for the altars of prayer and was saved.

Even though the Bible teachings we heard as young boys did not seem to be having a great effect on us, that training was essential because it taught us how to respond when we realized that we needed the Lord. As our focus verse says, our training did not depart from us, and it was still there when we were ready to get honest with God. Today, I thank God for a Christian upbringing.

To “train up a child in the way he should go” must start at home. Family worship, as well as praying and talking with each child often, are important steps to teaching about God. Having children in church and Sunday school is also vital, and whenever possible, we should be taking, not sending, them. I remember these steps being carried out carefully in my life, and even though the events took place more than sixty years ago, they are still vivid in my mind. Some people might not appear influenced by their godly upbringing, yet we can be sure it has not departed from them, for that is the promise of our focus verse. And as we continue to pray, the Lord will faithfully call them to return to that early training.