God in the Bible instructs parents to lead their children to know and love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). He charges parents to raise up their kids in the “way they should go” (Proverbs 22:6). Fathers are exhorted to discipline and instruct their children in the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), and mothers are encouraged to live in such a way where their children rise up and see them as a God-fearing examples (Proverbs 31:28-31). God even says that a goal of marriage and parenting is “godly offspring” (Malachi 2:15).
Many of us Christians know these biblical texts. But have you ever asked, Why? Why does God instruct parents like this? Why does he desire us to raise our children to know and love the Lord?
On the surface, the answer appears obvious. Of course we know why: This is for our children’s good. There’s little greater than our children knowing and loving their Creator. He commands us to instruct them toward, and we pray and long for, this salvation for our kids.
This is right and good. We love our kids, so we desperately desire their happiness in Christ. But I think there’s an even grander reason we can give for the ultimate reason and goal for our parenting them like this. It’s a biblical reason that places our responsibly and privilege as parents in God’s overarching plan for all of creation. It’s our ultimate purpose as Christian parents.
The Ultimate Purpose of Parents: A Four-Step Argument
We’ll show this ultimate reason, goal, and purpose for Christian parents with a simple four step argument from Scripture. I hope it may help us see the wonderful honor God has bestowed on us as Christian parents.
1. God Is Spreading His Glory Not Only Throughout the World, but Throughout Time
To begin, we first recognize that the ultimate purpose of creation is the glory and praise of God. The universe is the overflow of his glorious goodness, and he is orchestrating salvation and all of history for his praise.
When we think of how God is spreading his glory like this, most of us primarily consider it in terms of space. Meaning, God wants to spread this glory throughout the whole world. And this is true. “The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Numbers 14:21), and the gospel is “bearing fruit and growing in the whole world” (Colossians 1:6).
But it’s not just that God’s glory will spread throughout the world; he also has purposed for his glory will spread throughout time. God’s glory will spread both throughout space and throughout time. “Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.” The earth will be filled (space) with God’s glory, forever (time).
2. He Spreads His Glory Throughout Time Through Generations
“Forever,” however, is a vague, infinite amount of time. So the question then becomes: What does this “forever” mean in history, and here and now? How does this “forever” come about?
We get the answer throughout the Bible. Note how the psalmist defines “forever” in the last line of Psalm 79.
“We your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.” (Psalm 79:13)
God’s people will praise him forever. How? “From generation to generation.”
In other words, generation to generation is how God’s forever praise happens in history. Generation to generation is how it’s happening here and now. This is why the Bible frequently speaks not only about time, but about “generations.” God’s praise spreads throughout time as his glory is praised from one generation to the next generation—as one group of his people praises him and then teaches the next generation to praise him too, which then goes on and on.
So thus far in the argument, in premise one above we saw that God desires his glory to spread throughout time. Here we see that this happens through generations.
3. It’s Mainly the Role of Parents to Influence the Next Generation to Know the Lord
Which finally brings us to the remarkable role of parents. God desires his glory to spread throughout time, through generations, and it is mainly through parenting that this happens. It’s the responsibility and privilege of parents to train up the next generation to praise God.
Here is where all the verses mentioned in the opening paragraph fit perfectly. Parents are told to train their children (Proverbs 22:6), bring them up in the instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), and teach them to know and love the Lord their God (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Why? All so that the next generation may praise God.
4. Therefore, Parents Mainly Are the Way God’s Praise Continues Throughout Time
This, then, brings us to the stunning, final step in the argument: the ultimate role of parents. With all proven above, we now see that the ultimate role and privilege and responsibility and joy of parents is to train their children to know and love the Lord so that God’s glory and praise may spread not only throughout the world, but throughout time.
God set up the world this way—with parents, child dependence, and families. It may sound too lofty to say that parents are the main way God uses to spread his glory throughout time, but the Bible present this as true. Daily parenting, then, may seem mundane, but it’s far from it; it’s quite marvelous.
If you are a parent this is your ultimate purpose in parenting. This is why we pray for, teach the Bible to, and strive be humble, obedient, Christ-like, gospel-centered examples to our children. By God’s grace, it’s through such gospel-centered parenting that many children rise up knowing the Lord, which results in God’s praise continues forever through generations.
That Generations May Set Their Hope in God
And such a purpose in parenting doesn’t only affect your children’s generation. The Bible teaches that this has fruit even further down the road. The goal is that that the next God-loving generation you raise would then train up the next generation after them, who then would train up the next—while all along, God’s praise would spread throughout time.
Notice the multi-generational hope put forth in Psalm 78:
God established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” (Psalm 78:5-7)
God commands parents to teach their children. Why? That the next generation might know him. But it doesn’t stop there. The further goal is that then that next generation will teach it to their children “yet unborn,” who will then tell is to their children. And it goes on and on. (This also can go on and on negatively; note the generational warning in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:5.)
Parenting: To Spread God’s Forever Glory
The role of parents, therefore, is not only weighty and wonderful in that we can spread God’s praise throughout time through the next generation, but through generations and generations to come.
May we parent with this grand purpose and goal in mind. When things seem to be mundane or difficult in parenting, let’s remember that this is the way God has ordained his praise to continue throughout time. It’s through this gospel-centered generation-raising (which we call “parenting”) that God spreads his forever glory.
