During His life on Earth, Jesus set aside the full exercise of His divine attributes to live in the frailty of humanity. As such, He chose to grow in stature. Stature refers to the physical, and in Luke 2:52 to physical development. If your child will develop like Jesus, he must increase in his physical development. To help your child grow in stature, help him grow in physical strength, in work skills, and in overall character.
Children need physical strength to fulfill their God-given roles as adults. Men are to lead, provide, and protect. Proverbs 31 says that the virtuous woman “strengtheneth her arms.” We help our children develop their strength in line with their natural capacity. Strong muscles, endurance, coordination, and healthfulness are benchmarks of physical strength.
Children also need to learn work skills. Jews trained their children in work skills; Jesus learned carpentry from Joseph. Work skills help children fulfill their roles. Teach your children how to do tasks that prepare them for life. As you teach work skills, be sure to teach work ethics—do quality work, do difficult tasks, and persevere to finish the task.
Finally, help your child develop strong character. One way to think of character is this: doing the right thing even though you don’t feel like it. Strong character supersedes ability. Children develop character over time by doing steps one and two above. A mature child with good character is reliable and responsible.
Jesus increased in stature. Physical development includes a great many categories, but three key ones are physical strength, work skills, and strong character. Jesus increased in these areas. We should help our children increase the same way.
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