Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.
If ever there was a verse written to parents, especially parents of young children it is this one. Let’s break it down at bit. Most people look at that last verse and say that it's about going to church every Sunday. While I make church attendance a priority, that is not what I think these verses are saying.
The imagery of spurring, points me to horses. Picture it this way, we are in a horse race. We are closing in on the finish line. We glance left, we glance right, the finish line is straight ahead. What do we do? We spur our horse and he leaps forward with new force.
Do you think the horse liked the feel of the spur piercing his flesh? I don’t think so. Similarly, our children do not like to be disciplined. There are times, however, when there is a need to pierce the flesh of the child’s spirit to move them forward toward love and good deeds. Of course, I am not suggesting you literally use a spur on your child. What I am saying is that all of us are prone to lag in the pursuit of love and good deeds, sometimes we need to be challenged to move forward. Even more so for the egocentric young child, however a child craves discipline. She longs to know that boundaries are going to be in place and enforced. I think this is the way trust develops in young children. The scriptures use the metaphor of racing, but we cannot have a race alone. We are in this race together as a community of racers. Some will make it to the end, others will not. Who makes it to the end? It may be those who are spurred along in the community. Those who suffer the consequences of potentially falling behind...don’t let your children fall behind! Allow the community of believers, which includes you, to disciple your child to love and do good works and remember this call is to you as well, to preserve.