Blessed

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

BLESSED

Prov 20:7

7 The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

NIV

There is a duality in this saying. First we might think the man who leads a blameless life leaves a legacy for his children. He does well for his family and leaves behind a well-bred offspring. But what man can be blameless? That in itself is not possible for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Who then can be righteous? The point is that Christ is our righteousness and therefor a man who is in Christ is righteous and also blameless as he stands before God. Without Christ there is no righteousness to be found in any man. But as a man, a father finds Jesus and puts his trust in him, leads his family to Christ and so his children are indeed blessed, happy. What father would not lead his children to Christ? Although it is true some children simply do not follow in the footsteps of faith as their father. Some children are defiant and want to walk their own path. It is sad for any parent to watch their children walk away from God. But the scripture is also encouraging in this matter.

Prov 22:6

6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

NIV

There is hope for any father who trains his children in the ways of God. That is the point of this righteous man who leads a blameless life, a life committed to Christ. All too often we have heard the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do”. That will not do in the case for this father. It is our life which leads our children to being blessed. Although we should be careful what we say, we truly need to be careful in what we do. Children are the first to see through hypocrisy. They watch the life of their father. How does the father live his faith is how they will be blessed. When the father is faithful in his faith in Christ his children will see that. It is not the perfection of fatherhood, for no man can attain that, but it is his commitment to remain trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin which shows the way for his children to be blessed. It is not simply about always being in church when the doors are open. It is not always about being involved in church things. It is not always about being successful in worldly affairs. It is always about living a life of faith in Christ. It might be that children stray from the path. Can parents, who are not perfect, expect their children to be perfect? Sometimes it seems that is the case with some parents. But perfection is not the standard. Trusting in Christ is the standard by which all will be judged. Therefor let us always remain steadfast in our trust, our righteousness, Jesus. Living our faith out loud before our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great, great grandchildren until the day we step into the presence of our Lord. Then our posterity will be blessed.