In a few years – probably 2028 – a book will hit the shelves titled Rollercoaster Parenting. Here’s a synoptic preview of it, its 4 Core Statements, all based on Proverbs 22:6:
- To train them up means to establish them. That’s the real meaning of the Hebrew word in that verse. Here’s where the rollercoaster analogy comes in. Rollercoasters are built to never come off track. Their wheels don’t just ride along on the track, like a train. They grip the track, hugging both the top and bottom of the rail. Here are some of the wheels that will help your child hug the rail:
- Christ revealed.
- Grace understood.
- Love relayed.
- Scripture trusted.
- Faith Practiced.
- Intimacy Walked
- Hope Carried.
- The way they should go refers to Christ Jesus. It isn’t unrelated to Proverbs 22:6 that Jesus professed to be The Way (as well as the Truth and the Life). If there’s any confusion as to what the way means, John 14:6 clears that up for us pretty quickly. The way isn’t a path; it’s a person, not a how-to, but a Him. The way to the Father is by His Son, and the way in which to establish a child as we bring them up is the same – Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior of the World, Lord of all creation. The child being wholly committed to Jesus, living, moving and having their being in Him – that’s the way they should go.
- When they’re old means life-long longevity. There’s a word implied here, and that word is even. So, with that word included, the verse goes Train up as child in the way they should go, and even when they’re old they won’t depart from it.
- Not depart from it is literal in meaning. It’s crazy how many solid Bible students and even teachers I’ve heard interpret the verse like this: Train up a child in the way they should go, and if they stray, they’ll come back to it when they’re old. Excuse me, but that’s rewriting God’s Word. Not necessary. Let’s just take God at His Word. Not to worry, though. There are plenty of encouraging promises and precedents in the Bible for those parents with a child who’s strayed, of which I am one. Let’s come back to that in another blog-post. For now, let it suffice to get children established in the way from which they will never depart.
