PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

The Work of Fostering

Our primary focus in the care of our children should be to cherish, nourish, and foster them for their growth in the life—physical, psychological, and spiritual. The apostle Paul considered himself as both a nursing mother and an exhorting father to the spiritual family he had raised up in Thessalonica. Witness Lee in his Life-Study of First Thessalonians points out the various characteristics of Paul's care for his spiritual "children," identifying this as a work of fostering. To foster signifies to provide the top atmosphere for proper growth in life.

Fostering care is a kind of watering, nourishing and cherishing of tender young plants so they may grow in a healthy and lasting way. In such a nurturing atmosphere the emphasis is not on teaching but on establishing a pattern to imitate. Paul presented himself as such a pattern to the believers under his care. Children learn and grow by imitating the life and living of their parents. Hence, we parents must present a proper pattern.

To set up a proper pattern of life and practice, we must learn to use the Word of God to infuse into our children a realization that God has spoken to us through the scriptures. The Word of God—not our philosophy, or merely our practice as a group of people who meet as the church in our locality—is the base of all our living and practice. We must receive the Word of God and allow it to operate in us to constitute us with God's life, nature, and expression. The Bible must be prominent in our living and practice, and in the training of our children.

Furthermore, we can foster our children by sharing with them stories about other saints and churches that they may aspire to serve the Lord all their lives. Even stories of suffering for the Lord's testimony equip them to boldly live the Christian life.

We also must inoculate them early in their lives against all harmful things by repeatedly warning them of the things that will damage them for the Lord and His purpose.

Finally, it is imperative that we provide an emotional linkage with our children, loving them and viewing them as our hope, joy, and crown. This is to touch their hearts with tender fostering care, encouraging them to follow you closely to love the Lord.

What we have in chapter two of 1 Thessalonians is the fostering of the young Christian life. In this chapter Paul is nourishing and cherishing the believers. According to his writing, he behaves himself as a nursing mother and an exhorting father. On the one hand, he is a mother cherishing; on the other hand, he is a father exhorting. His main concern is not teaching, but the carrying out of a fostering work to help the young saints to grow….

According to what he says in chapter two, Paul regards the believers as members of a large family. Of course in a family there is the need for some amount of teaching. Both a mother and a father teach their children. However, in a family the focus is not on teaching the children, but is on raising them by cherishing, nourishing, and fostering them so that they may grow. Their growth is not mainly in knowledge; it is primarily a growth in life. As children grow in life, they spontaneously receive more education. The knowledge they acquire always goes along with their growth in life. They should not be given knowledge prematurely. This means that their knowledge should not exceed their growth of life….

…The church is a family. The church may also be compared to a farm or a garden. A family is a place where children grow up, and an orchard is a place where trees grow and produce fruit. Paul's concern in chapter two is with the growth of his children. He is fostering the young believers so that they may grow. We may also say that he is watering, nourishing and cherishing the tender young plants so that they may grow in life. This is the reason that instead of giving the believers a great deal of teaching, he presents them a pattern of life. This pattern of a proper living is actually Paul himself.

GROWING BY IMITATING

Some Christian teachers say that a believer should not give a testimony concerning himself. According to these teachers, to testify of our experience is to preach ourselves. Therefore, they advise others not to speak of how they have repented, believed in the Lord, received grace, and have been saved. These teachers insist strongly that we should preach only the Lord Jesus and teach the Bible, but should never say anything about ourselves. In 1 Thessalonians 2, however, Paul certainly speaks about himself. He gives a strong testimony of his living among the Thessalonians. He reminds them of the apostles coming and of their manner of life among them. Why did Paul emphasize this? He emphasized it because he was presenting a pattern of a proper living to the young saints….

In 1:6 Paul says to the Thessalonians "You became imitators of us and of the Lord." Imitating is related to growing. In fact, in many ways to imitate is to grow. In a family children imitate their parents and older brothers and sisters. The little ones do not invent anything; instead, they imitate others.

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