Auntie Fifi's Weekly

September 16, 2008 Concepts that I learnt from this passage of scripture about the authority and God-given mandate that we have as parents over our children. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Psalm 127:4,5 (NIV) Who is a warrior? A man of war. One who fights with the aim of conquering. (my definition) Characteristics of a warrior

Strong

A warrior can pull the bow further than an amateur archer. Hence the arrow will go farther)

Strategic

A warrior's mission is to fight. Therefore, his targets are clear, focused

Aims Perfectly

A warrior hardly misses his target when shooting

Sharp arrows

He is always well equipped with sharp arrows

Disciplined

A warrior can sacrifice immediate wants/needs until the goal or target is accomplushed

Characteristics of Youth

Strong mind

Ability to think and analyse well

Good memory (memory fades as one gets older)

Strong body

Full of energy and vigour.

A warrior is not afraid to use his arrow because he understands its purpose. He is willing to release the arrow when NECESSARY. ( A warrior does not use his arrow indiscriminately. In other words, he does not shoot at every object he sees)

A warrior has a trained mind and a trained body

Lesson for us parents

Our CHILDREN are like ARROWS

We should not be afraid to release our children into the purpose God ordained for them. Hence we, as parents SHOULD have a knowledge of our children's Purpose

Because we are young we have the strength to train them into purpose

We also have the mental skills to train our children so they can become sharp (as an arrow)

We can be diligent and help them to persevere because we have a strong mind to facilitate their development

Old Age is characterised by the following

• Tiredness
• Weak
• Forgetful

Hence this stage is not suitable for raising children

Please note that Youth is not defined by numerical Age but by stage of development. Hence there may be someone who is sixty five years old but who has the characteristics of Youth. I would consider this person to be Young.

Children positioned to do exploits for God will damage the Enemy (Satan). But parents must release the children. It is interesting that children were not likened to swords. You wield a sword in your hand. You always have your sword. ( You do not always have your children)

Arrows can only go in one direction. We have to point our children in the right direction

An arrow can only hit one object at a time

Our children must have a knowledge of their purpose and hence become single minded in their pursuit of it.

We, as parents are responsible for helping our children to sray focused.