Proverbs 4:10–13
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many.
I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.
When you go, your steps shall not be straitened; and when you run, you shall not stumble.
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is your life.
This young man has learned how to walk in the way of wisdom, which is the way of true knowledge, faith, and obedience. When he was young and foolish, his father taught him how to take little steps in the good way. As he progresses in years and grows more familiar with the path, he begins to run without fear of stumbling into some horrible trap. Make no mistake about it; life is dangerous. But it is wisdom that protects us on the pathway.
A father who truly educates his son is not a seminary lecturer or a secular educator who downloads piles of facts into his son’s mind. True biblical education teaches a man how to walk in the way of wisdom. A true biblical educator is a discipler who is not afraid to correct, rebuke, point out sins, and work side-by-side with his student on projects throughout the week. Sadly, very few young men have access to a wise mentor who takes his time to teach how to walk in the way of wisdom.
When you hear the words of instruction from your parents as they bring God’s Word into your life, what do you do with it? Do you just let it sit there? Or do you grab it, embrace it, memorize it, and apply it to your own life? If a young man hears the Word of God for eighteen years and never really embraces it, he will quickly walk away from it upon leaving the home. How you receive the Word when you are young will typically determine the way you will walk in the years to come.
1. Are we teaching our children to walk in the way of wisdom?
2. How might we do more discipleship, where we are teaching our children how to walk in the right paths?
3. What does it look like when a child takes “fast hold of instruction”?