"It is an innate acknowledged principle that the soul of man will not keep up cheerfully unto worship of God unless it has a discovery of a beauty and comeliness in it."
(John Owen Overcoming Sin and Temptation p268)
The natural corollary of John Owen's innately acknowledged principle is:
"Let, then, the soul labor to acquaint itself with the beauty of obedience, of communion with God, of all the duties of immediate approach to him, that it may be rifled [disordered, ruffled] with delight in them" (ibid.)
For parents the implication is twofold:
- If we are to be of any lasting good to our children, we must have our gaze set on the beauty of God and His kingdom. No personal faithfulness, or comprehensive teaching, or anything else will profit our children like our beholding and loving Christ our King. More than that, nothing else can so satisfy our souls!
- The great grace that we must diligently seek for our children is that they may see His beauty, and love Him. To this end I know two primary means:
- Tell them of the majesty of God, and the splendor of His Kingdom, and
- Pray that the Holy Spirit would give them open eyes to see.
God give us grace to so see and do!
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