by Sheila Campbell
I hate to get lost, so when I travel I usually take several precautions to make sure I know exactly where I am going. I set the GPS on my iPhone and I print the directions to my destination using Google Maps or some other online navigation program. These programs usually give me very detailed directions, but sometimes I can get bogged down with too many details, like, “Slight right to exit, continue right to stop, left on access, and left on new highway.” Sometimes I just want it to say, “Turn left and head west on US Hwy. 194.” So, despite all the modern technology available, as an extra precaution I still like to carry a good, old-fashioned, printed map. I want to be able to see the big picture and know where I’m going. I want to know what other roads may intersect my path, what roads run parallel to the road on which I’m traveling, or what alternate routes may be available if I should take a wrong turn.
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” A vision is a mental picture or foresight—a plan for the future. It is a map that provides direction for our lives. In this day and age we desperately need Christians with a vision for their lives, a vision for their families, and a vision for our nation. But when we think on Proverbs 29:18, we shouldn’t just stop at the first part of the verse. The second part of Proverbs 29:18 states, “But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” In this proverb the law is the vision for the people and it was intended to give the people direction and guidance.
When our country was founded, the Constitution and civil laws that were established were a reflection of God’s law, and I believe that the vision held by our nation’s forefathers was that of a nation in which individuals were able to govern themselves according to the law. Today, as a nation, we have lost sight of God’s law, and the line between right and wrong has been so distorted that there are many who no longer believe in absolute truth nor hold to a set standard for morality. But we, as a nation, have been blessed to have easy access to an ancient guidebook: the Bible. Within the pages of this book, we can again find the law and the foundation on which we can lay the vision for our lives, our families, and our nation.
As Christian parents we have the power and the duty to impact a generation and perhaps even change the course of this nation, with the Bible as our map to find our way back and as our vision for the future. Its pages contain direction and a vision for individual lives, families, and nations. It contains the big picture so we know what roads may intersect our path, what obstacles we might encounter, and how to redirect our course if we lose our way.
When we give our children knowledge of God’s law and a love for God’s Word, we impart a vision for their lives and give them direction. This is a vision big enough to include and to influence the world our children may someday encounter, like the public school peer your son wants to befriend or the working mother who may someday be your daughter’s neighbor. It is a guidebook to redirect our children when they wander off course, and it is a map big enough to remind us that our children may still be on course, even if the details of their lives do not exactly mirror ours.
We do not need to give our children detailed directions for their lives and their future. We guide them through details of the path we are traveling by simply living our daily lives together with them. As they grow older, our children may choose a different route than the one we traveled, or their path may be very similar to our own, but with God’s Word as their guide, whatever route they choose, we can rest securely knowing they still have directions and a vision for their future.
Copyright 2014. Used by permission of the author and Texas Home School Coalition (THSC). Originally published in Texas Home School Coalition REVIEW, May 2014.
Sheila Campbell began homeschooling in 1991 and continued homeschooling as a single parent after the death of her husband in 2001. She was also the parent of a special needs child whom she cared for at home until his death in 2004. Now that her children have all graduated, Sheila pursues her writing, after being a valued member of the THSC staff. She resides in Hale Center, TX and invites you to visit her blog at www.pausingtopraise.com.