One of the most difficult issues that Christian families sometimes face is when they raise their children up in the Christian faith, and for whatever reason, they choose to walk away!   Why do children of godly parents go astray?  While I do not have all the answers, I believe there are many reasons for it!

Throughout the Bible we find many godly parents of children who went “hay-wire” – Adam, Noah, Samuel, Eli, Daniel and David – just to name a few.  There are three stages in a typical child’s rebellion and all three are shown in the story of the Prodigal Son – Rebellion; Re-evaluation and regret and Return!

From day one there is a power struggle – who is in control?  Here’s where the prodigal hops on his “Camelac” and cruises down the “Sunset Strip” in a distant land.  He’s having a great time doing all the things that he always wanted to do – all the while Mom and Dad’s hearts are breaking!

Hard as it is, when a child is old enough, we need to let them go!  The prodigal’s father no doubt tried to reason with him – but to no avail!  The young man was determined to leave.  Then we need to let them make their own mistakes!  At first, everything is great – it is party time!  The child tries everything that was forbidden at home, but when the money runs out his friends disappear.

We as parents need to let our prodigal go through the “ School of Hard-Knocks”.  It is risky, but it is the only way the child is going to learn.  We have to let them make their own mistakes and reap the consequences!

Once he has reached the end of his rope, the prodigal is filled with regret and begins to re-evaluate his life.  His attitude toward his father changes from “give me” to “take me”.  It is now one of submission!

Sadly, it can be said for all mankind that we never change until we get desperate!  Some of our children are not desperate yet – they are going to have to hit bottom first!

So what do we as parents do?  First, we pray for our children!  Pray, pray and pray some more!  We need to commit our children to God!  Remember that the things that our out of our control are never out of God’s control!  Finally, we need to wait patiently! 

Waiting is what brings us to the Return!  How we handle the return of our children is crucial!  We need to accept our prodigal unconditionally!  The prodgial’s father did not set any conditions on his love for his son!  Remember that there is a difference between acceptance and approval!  We can accept someone without approving of their lifestyle.