• 以弗所书 6:1-4

1 作儿女的，你们要在主里听从父母，这是理所当然的。 2-3 当孝敬父母，使你得福，在世长寿。这是第一条带应许的诫命。 4 作父亲的，你们不要激怒儿女，但要照着主的教导和劝戒养育他们。

• 箴言 22:4-6

4 敬畏耶和华心存谦卑，就得财富、尊荣、生命为赏赐。5 歪曲的人路上有荆棘和罗网，保护自己生命的，必要远离。6 教养孩童走当行的道，就是到老他也不偏离。

若不是新冠疫情的暴发，我竟想不起来我们全家可曾有过整整一星期一日三餐都在一起吃的时候，也记不起来可曾有过一连七天，全家一道学习圣经、共同敬拜的时候。但是感谢新冠病毒，这一切竟然改变了！

数十年来，许多牧师和青年团契的带领人一直在为教会里的父母们祷告，希望他们能拥抱上帝的呼召，成为圣灵做工的主要途径，把下一代带到耶稣的面前。使徒保罗就曾写道：“你们作父亲的，不要惹儿女的气，只要照着主的教训和警戒养育他们。”（以弗所书6:4）

然而在我们那挤得满满当当的日程里，这绝少发生。鉴于周末常有比赛，晚上还要加班，太多社交应酬不去不行，至于孩子，我们寄希望于几次主日礼拜和两年的青年团契，觉得这就像变戏法一样，能让他们平白有了信心。可悲的是，从过往经验来看，这个戏法不灵。在上帝的国里，实在没有捷径可走。

然而新冠病毒不期而至：赛季取消，社交应酬锐减，生活一下子就慢了下来；主日礼拜暂停，青年团契活动全部搁置。你可曾想过，这是不是上帝在迫使做父母的采取行动，好好想想宝贝们的永恒未来？

如果近期你的生活和我的相似，那么你每天一定会多出一两个小时。好好利用这些时间“教养孩童，使他走当行的道”（箴言22:6）。如果你还没有孩子，那请把这个信息分享给身边的为人父母者。在生活再度加快步伐之前，让我们彼此提醒，除了让更多人全心全意地爱上帝以外，没有其他更重要的事了。

如果耶稣要利用这次全球性疫情来让我们把信心的接力棒传递到下一代的手中，那么一切都是值得的。它会再一次地证明，基督＞新冠病毒。

• 花点时间向神献上感恩与祈求

• Ephesians 6:1-4

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

• Proverbs 22:4-6

4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. 5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Until the Coronavirus hit, I couldn’t recall a time that my family ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together for an entire week. Neither could I remember seven straight days of Bible study and worship as a family. But Corona changed that. Thanks, Corona!

For decades, pastors and youth leaders have prayed for fathers and mothers to embrace their God-given calling as the primary way that the Holy Spirit would lead the next generation to Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)

With our crazy-busy schedules, that rarely happens. With another weekend tournament, late nights at the office, and too many social commitments to keep, we hope that a few Sunday sermons and two years of youth group will do the trick for our kids’ faith. Sadly, as history has shown, the trick doesn’t work. Shortcuts don’t cut it in the kingdom of God.

But then came Corona. Seasons were canceled, social commitments were cut back, and life slowed down. The Sunday service pushed pause, and the youth group suspended all activities. Do you ever wonder if God was forcing our fathers’ hands and making our mothers step up and think about the eternal future of their precious kids?

If your life is anything like mine these days, you have an extra hour or two in your schedule. Leverage that time to “start children off on the way they should go,” (Proverbs 22:6). If you’re not a parent, share this message with a parent you know. Before life speeds up again, let’s remind one another that nothing matters more than people loving God with their whole hearts.

If Jesus uses a global pandemic to pass the baton of faith to the next generation, it will all be worth it. It will prove, once more, that Christ > Corona.

• Take a moment to give thanks and prayers to God