Pro 22:6 (MSG)Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life.
Two things every young boy needs: a good dog to grow up with and an understanding of the Lord.
Because time and the passing of the years will change those relationships, they must be present from the beginning.
The dog will not live far into the life of the boy, but his memory will remain forever. In the back of the mind of every old man is the memory of the old hound he grew up with. He may grow old and his mind may wander, but he will always recall those days when they romped together through the fields of childhood.
And life and sin and the stress of the years will affect the boy’s relationship with God, too. There will be times when fun will lie just over the horizon, and she will woo a young man away from matters spiritual. And there will be years when just the meeting the obligations of life will fill the hours to their limits. And as certain as the passing of time is, there will be friends that will come into a boys life; friends who never had a dog or a prayer by the bedside. And they will change him too.
But God has promised that when that seed is planted it will, one day, sprout forth and rekindle something from childhood. The memory of a sweet momma, a good dog, and a God who listened every night by the side of the bed will remain.
What have you given that little tow-headed boy in the next room? A dog. Good for you.
But the dog will not carry him over the far hills of life. Only prayer can do that. Teach him to pray, mother. Show him how to pray father. There is nothing more lasting you can ever give him.
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