The home in which Jesus was raised cultivated His mental, physical, spiritual, and social development (Luke 2:40, 52). In addition to God’s only-begotten Son being nurtured in the home of Joseph and Mary, two New Testament prophets—James and Jude—were also raised by this godly couple.
The fact that Joseph—Jesus’ stepfather—was a righteous man (Matthew 1:19) mattered to God. This righteous man did far more than teach Mary’s firstborn how to work with His hands (Mark 6:3), he was instrumental in Jesus’ spiritual training and teaching.
It is tragic how far afield some have deviated from the plain words of “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
Some have deviated from these words by failing to notice who has been given the primary responsibility of raising children. It is NOT the local preacher, elders, or Bible school teachers. It is NOT the civil government. It is NOT public or private school teachers. It is NOT relatives like aunts, uncles, older siblings, or grandparents. It is NOT a paid babysitter or day care worker. It is NOT an electronic gadget, cable/internet device, and/or cell phone. God lays this weighty responsibility on the shoulders of fathers (v. 4) and mothers (v. 1).
Some have deviated from these words by failing to notice what each parent’s primary focus ought to be. Since every child is born with an imperishable soul and an immortal spirit, a parent’s primary focus needs to be on providing their precious offspring with the spiritual tools to please God in this life so they can inherit the kingdom prepared by God from the foundation of the world.
The importance of your child’s going to heaven far exceeds everything else. Fathers, therefore, need to ensure their children are raised accordingly.