The Psalm 23 Parent

"A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever."  (Psa 23:1-6)

These verses are so beautiful!  I have been meditating on them for quite awhile and, as I have studied them I see how they are a wonderful picture to us as parents in raising our children for the Lord. 

• Verse 1, besides providing for our children's needs, we see that we are to be watchful for danger and temptations that can lure our children away from the Lord, that's the job of the shepherd.  The closer the sheep is to the shepherd, the safer he is.  The sheep who are farther away from the shepherd are in the most danger.  This reminded me of the Scripture, "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother."  (Pro 29:15)  We need to strive to keep our children's hearts so that we can lead them to the Good Shepherd.
  
• Verse 2, the green pastures and the still waters were a place of rest.  The word "pastures" means "home" and the words "make me" mean to "make to rest".  As for the water, a sheep will not drink from rough water, so the Shepherd needed to detour water with his staff from the raging waters, and create a little "puddle" that was calm so that the sheep would drink, otherwise, the sheep would  literally die of thirst.  So what we see here a picture of a peaceful home where the children are protected from the influence of the world. The home is meant to be a haven of rest with the parents leading the children to the Living Water.

• Verse 3, we are to lead our children to Christ and guide them to maturity in their relationship with Him and have a good reputation as a family.

• Verses 4-5, the shepherd held a branch and a walking stick.  The walking stick for support as he lead the way and the branch for discipline.  We are to walk, side-by-side with our children, showing them how to be a light in a dark world, discipling and disciplining them along the way.

• Verse 6, the result of our years of training and discipling them is an abundant life and peace with God.

I'm sure there are many other parallels and lessons that can be learned from these verses.  These are just some of them that I have been meditating on.

Oh Lord, may we shepherd our children, guiding them, leading them and teaching them about you so that they may have an impact on this world for You.  Amen.