The Power of Both Parents

Luke 1:67

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

Children don't turn out right by accident, but they turn out right by having the right influence and example from both parents. John the Baptist was a good child because both parents were involved in his upbringing. When studying the childhood of John the Baptist, you see several characteristics his parents had that helped direct him to be the man of God that God intended him to be. Let me share with you these characteristics.

First, both parents communicated with each other. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Zacharias, you see they were in communication with each about what the angel said because when the crowd tried to give John a different name, Elisabeth would not allow it because her husband told her that the child’s name was to be John. It is easier to turn out good children when both parents communicate with each other. Communication keeps both parents on the same page as to how they choose to raise their children. You cannot allow communication breakdown in your marriage if you want your children to turn out right.

Second, both parents were involved in discipline. Because John the Baptist was to be a Nazarite, both parents had to be involved in making sure that John ate right and was raised properly. You are sure to raise a manipulative child if one parent is the disciplinarian and the other parent lets the child do what they want. Both parents need to be on the same page of discipline so the child understands they must live according to the same rules that both parents establish.

Third, both parents walked with God. Both Zacharias and Elisabeth had times when they talked to God, which means both parents walked with God. You have a better chance of children turning out right if both parents walk with God and get His instruction from His Word. Children learn that walking with God is critical if they see both parents walking with God.

Fourth, both parents made serving God their life. Zacharias and Elisabeth served God together into their elderly years. Children have a better chance of serving God with their lives if they see both parents serving God. The likelihood of children serving God becomes extremely unlikely when only one parent serves God. The likelihood of children turning out right for God and serving Him becomes extremely likely when serving God is a family ordeal. Whatever the family does together is often what the children will do when they become adults. If the family serves God together, it becomes the life a child learns and follows when they become an adult.

Fifth, both parents were filled with the Holy Ghost. You give me a mother and a father who are filled with the Holy Ghost, and I will show you a child who learns the importance of God’s power in their own life at a young age. If both parents are filled with the Holy Ghost, that child has the greatest example of how to live because the parents are following the lead of the Holy Ghost.

The key to this whole truth is the word BOTH. John the Baptist turned out right because both parents did all these things. A child that has the same example on how to live by both parents has a better chance of serving God than the child that has only one parent doing right. Let me challenge both parents to get on the same page to live for God, and you will have a better chance of your children doing right.