David was about to go to his eternal rest. He had some advice to give to his son, who would take the throne. More in a moment. In our Gospel reading today from Mark 6, Jesus sends out the Twelve two by two. "So they went off and preached repentance."
David had lived a long life, reigning over Israel for forty years. When death drew near, he called his son Solomon to give him some fatherly advice. "Take courage and be a man. Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written..."
As we shall soon see, Solomon did not do as his father told him. But David made sure that his son at least was told what he must do. Children often stray from the ways of their parents. But if we teach them in the way they should go, we have done our jobs. Too many parents ask, "What did I do wrong?" If you raised them in the ways of the Lord, you've done your job. As adults, they make their own decisions. Stop second-guessing yourself and just pray.
Father, watch over our children and help to always stay close to you. Amen.
Give your children the gift of knowledge of the faith with A Minute in the Church, available at www.GusLloyd.com.
Well said Gus. I think as parents of children that have walked away from their faith, we can spend countless hours questioning what we could have done different or better. Simply said, we are called to pray. We have no idea how God is using our prayers and what the final “masterpiece” will look like.