When we were children we wondered what was our purpose on this earth, why were we here? Growing up, all we knew is that we were supposed to obey our parents. We didn’t know about what was going on around us. We just grew up learning about things that we needed to know about that was good for us. We never worried about what the meaning of life was. We were not worried about the next day or the events that could happen in it.

Did we ever think about where we were going in our life? Did we ever think about what we wanted to be and do? Did we ever ask questions about the things we didn’t understand about life? Did we ever think about God and what He wanted for us while we were growing up? Maybe we should have been asking those questions. Maybe we should ask those questions now. Clearly, we all need to know where we are going in life and why. If we have no goals, no purpose, and no guiding principles, we will waste our lives (and many have!). We should be asking these questions, because life goes by more quickly than we can now imagine.

Do we think that life is going by fast nowadays compared to the way things were back then? How do we feel when we see life taken knowing that person will never experience the fullness of life? Knowing that when life is taken, life goes on as hard as it may be, but pain of life lost lingers long.

We search for meaning and happiness in relationships, sex, possessions, accomplishments, fame, drugs, drink, and even religion. We are all searching for meaning and purpose in life.

It doesn’t matter how old we become we will always wonder about the meaning of life.

Will we ever understand the meaning of life? Do we ever think to ask God what is the meaning of our lives? Do we ever consider going to God because He has all of the answers to the questions we have about all life and the meaning of it? Why is it so hard to do that? How do we really see God? Do we see God smiling or frowning? How does He look at us knowing we are going to make mistakes along the way? How does He look at us when we are all sinful people? How can He bless us when He knows we don’t always deserve it? The answer is, because He is love. He loves us regardless of who we are. He loves us because we are His Creation. He loves us because we are created in His image. He lives in our heart. There is not one place we can go and He isn’t with us. He is everywhere we are. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

The real meaning of life is acceptance. Accepting Jesus is the real meaning of life. Living according to God’s Word is the real meaning of life. Repenting of our sins is the real meaning of life. Holding on to God’s unchanging hand is the real meaning of life. Living in the presence of God is the real meaning of God. Never giving up on God is the real meaning of life because He will never give up on you. That is the real meaning of life.

www.olivetree.com/votd/index.php

The MacArthur Bible Commentary (1 Volume) explains every passage of the whole Bible phrase by phrase with over one hundred word studies. You will glean wisdom from the Word as you study from a seasoned Bible teacher.
Features of the MacArthur Bible Commentary:
• Passage-by-passage commentary of the whole Bible
• A short introduction covering author, date, time, and setting for each book of the Bible.
• Each introduction also includes discussion of God’s character, how Christ is seen, key doctrines, key words, key people, and key Scripture passages that represent the core theme of each book of the Bible.
• Over 500 charts, maps, and articles, including over 300 additional pieces of content not found in the MacArthur Study Bible
• Outline of every book of the Bible
• References to The MacArthur Bible Handbook, and other Thomas Nelson study resources as alternate sources for more in-depth treatment

John MacArthur has served as the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, since 1969. His ministry of expository preaching is unparalleled in its breadth and influence. In more than four decades of ministry from the same pulpit, he has preached verse by verse through the entire New Testament (and several key sections of the Old Testament). He is president of the Master’s University and Seminary and can be heard daily on the Grace to You radio broadcast (carried on hundreds of radio stations worldwide). He has authored a number of bestselling books, including Twelve Ordinary Men, and One Perfect Life.

Since there are hundreds of proverbs in the book we know as Proverbs, it can be helpful to condense or distill some of them down into a more manageable list. This can also help because often the proverbs are not arranged by topic. Instead, they are scattered throughout the book. With that in mind, here are 10 key proverbs on children. We adapted this list and notes from the MacArthur Bible Commentary. May this list instruct and encourage you as you seek to raise your children in the Lord.

1. Proverbs 10:1

“The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.”

This parental grief is most deeply felt by the mother, who plays a more intimate role in raising a child.

2. Proverbs 13:1

“A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”

3. Proverbs 22:6

“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he grows older he will not abandon it.”

There is only one right way, God’s way, the way of life. That way is specified in great detail in Proverbs. Since it is axiomatic that early training secures lifelong habits, parents must insist on this way, teaching God’s Word and enforcing it with loving discipline consistently throughout the child’s upbringing (cf. Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6–8; 11:18–21; Joshua 24:15; Ephesians 6:4).

4. Proverbs 22:15

“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.”

Early childhood teaching requires both parental discipline, including corporal punishment (cf. 10:13; 19:18; 22:15; 29:15, 17), and balanced kindness and love. There is great hope that the use of the “divine ordinance” of the rod will produce godly virtue (cf. 23:13, 14) and parental joy (cf. 10:1; 15:20; 17:21; 23:15, 16; 28:7; 29:1, 17). Such discipline must have the right motivation (Heb. 12:5–11) and appropriate severity (Eph. 6:4). One who has genuine affection for his child, but withholds corporal punishment, will produce the same kind of child as a parent who hates his offspring.

5. Proverbs 23:22–25

“Listen to your father, who fathered you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her rejoice who gave birth to you.”

Buy the truth. Obtain the truth at all costs (cf. 4:5–7; Matthew 13:44–46). Then, never relinquish it at any price (see Dan. 1:8ff.).

6. Proverbs 24:21, 22

“My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not get involved with those of high rank, for their disaster will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that can come from both of them?”

The king. Loyalty to the king is proper because he is the agent of the Lord’s wisdom (cf. Deut. 17:14–20; Rom. 13:1–7). That loyalty includes having no part with rebels who seek to subvert or overthrow him (“change”). Peter draws on this verse in his call to good citizenship in 1 Peter 1:17; 2:17.

The ruin those two can bring. A reference to the retributive power of the king and the Lord (cf. Job 31:23).

7. Proverbs 27:1

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”

Boast…tomorrow. Fools think they know the future or can affect its outcome, but the future rests with the sovereign God.

8. Proverbs 28:7

“He who keeps the Law is a discerning son, but he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.”

The son who obeyed God’s law would not be a glutton and shame his father.

9. Proverbs 29:3

“A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but he who involves himself with prostitutes wastes his wealth.”

10. Proverbs 29:15

“The rod and a rebuke give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”

Keep Reading!

The MacArthur Bible Commentary by well-known pastor John MacArthur provides clear and succinct explanations of the text. Additionally, this resource comes packed with extra features. It includes:

• Passage-by-passage commentary of the whole Bible
• A short introduction covering author, date, time, and setting for each book of the Bible.
• Each introduction also includes discussion of God’s character, how Christ is seen, key doctrines, key words, key people, and key Scripture passages that represent the core theme of each book of the Bible.
• Over 500 charts, maps, and articles, including over 300 additional pieces of content not found in the MacArthur Study Bible
• Outlines of every book of the Bible

Interested?

TAP HERE for a copy of the MacArthur Bible Commentary.