The man was greeted by only one kitten when he stepped out on the back porch. Where’s the gray kitten? he wondered. Later that morning he found its lifeless form lying crushed in the driveway. The story was easy to piece together. Visitors had been there the evening before. The gray kitten must have crawled up onto the chassis of their vehicle. After a pleasant evening, the visitors had bidden the man and his wife farewell and had driven away. They never knew when a small gray kitten leaped lightly from the chassis and was crushed by the tires.  

The man looked at the lifeless form and wished he could have done more to instruct the kitten of driveway dangers.  

We want to teach our children about God and shelter them from the dangers of this world as much as we can. We want to tell them as much as is appropriate for their ages about avoiding the snares of temptations. Our goal is that each child learns to think for himself—to observe his environment, notice the dangers, and plan a safe course with the help of others. We cannot be with our children every minute as they grow to maturity, but we can do much to help them fend for themselves by preparing their hearts to follow Jesus.  

The faith of each generation of believers must be fresh, vibrant, and personal. That is the only way to pass on the faith. If we fail in that, we become careless; and it is the careless who are crushed.  

Oh, happy is the man who hears 
Instruction’s warning voice, 
And who celestial wisdom makes 
His early, only choice.  
—Michael Bruce 

From Paws on My Porch, by Gary Miller
© 2015 TGS International, PO Box 355, Berlin, Ohio 44610
Used by permission