At one time , we might have looked at our sons ’ pleas to go mini golfing as attempts at manipulation and their backseat complaining as clear signs of disrespect . But we now recognize that a child ’ s misbehavior may be their way of communicating hundreds or thousands of messages .
Children may act poorly because they lack skills , have a nutrition deficiency or unmet emotional needs , are getting sick , need a nap , etc . But as Christian parents who also desire to bring healthy spiritual formation to our children ’ s lives , we can ’ t just assume the constant goodness of our children . We acknowledge that our inherent sin nature is another factor at play in behavioral situations . While we concluded that wrongdoing wasn ’ t necessarily at the root of our sons ’ behavior on that Sunday shopping trip , there ’ s no getting around the fact that sin is often a factor in the way all of us behave and express ourselves .
How should we respond to our children ’ s sin ? There is plenty in the Bible about what Christians should do when others sin . Space does not permit us to review it all here . But it seems worth highlighting the first time in Scripture a father responds to his children ’ s sin , which we find in Genesis 3:8-24 . As we watch God respond to Adam and Eve right after their very first sin , we discover some ideas of how we might respond to our children ’ s sin :
God moves toward them . Adam and Eve have broken the relationship , but God still seeks
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