Train Up A Child In The Way He Should Go

The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, so that when he is old, he will not depart from it."

But what of the stories of children of godly parents who grow up and fall into sinful lifestyles, or simply backslide and fall away from God?

At church today, I was reminded of this when chatting with a lovely elderly gentleman. We were talking about his siblings interstate and back in England (where he's originally from), and the topic shifted to his son. He sadly commented that his son had stopped going to church because his wife had no time for church. Apparently both of them work long hours at different times, which makes for little time as a family.

And then he brought up the verse, sighed and expressed the hope that perhaps when his son was old, he would come back to God.

That made me think. God does work in mysterious and powerful ways, and His timing and wisdom are not ours. Perhaps that verse is meant not just to encourage parents to do all they can to influence their children for the Lord when they are young. Perhaps it is also to reassure them that the Heavenly Father is always willing to welcome home the prodigal son, how ever long he has been away, even if He has to wait till the latter is "old" (by which time the earthly parent would no longer be around).