Ellen Chat Conversation

Ellen White wrote that parents who neglect their God-given responsibilities will face a solemn question in the judgment: **"Where are the children that I gave you to train for Me? Why are they not at My right hand?"** (CG 561.1). This powerful statement appears in her counsel about parental accountability. She explained that "parents who have neglected their God-given responsibilities must meet that neglect in the judgment" (CG 561.1). The Lord's question cuts to the heart of parental duty — children are entrusted to parents specifically to be trained for God. Many parents will realize too late that unwise love blinded their eyes to their children's faults and left those children to develop deformed characters unfit for heaven,while others will see that "they did not give their children time and attention, love and tenderness; their own neglect of duty made the children what they are" (CG 561.1). Ellen White also referenced the biblical imagery of parents presenting their children before God, asking: "Suppose you should get to heaven and none of your children be there. How could you say to God, 'Here am I, Lord, and the children which Thou hast given me'?" (CG 561.3). This echoes the scriptural pattern where God's servants could present those entrusted to their care. The responsibility is clear and unavoidable. She wrote that "Jesus requires of the parents... a thorough change of their attitude in the home. He has entrusted them with the responsibility of training their children for Him. These children are His property" (7MR 15.1). Parents who shirk this God-given work rob God of the influence that should be exerted both in and out of the home. --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What specific counsel did Ellen White give about training children for heaven? • How did she describe the consequences of parental neglect in the judgment? • What practical methods did she recommend for bringing children to Christ?

God will ask **parents** this solemn question about their children. Ellen White wrote that "parents who have neglected their God-given responsibilities must meet that neglect in the judgment. The Lord will then inquire, 'Where are the children that I gave you to train for Me? Why are they not at My right hand?'" (CG 561.1). This question is directed specifically at those who have been entrusted with the sacred responsibility of raising children. Ellen White emphasized that children are God's property, His heritage, and parents are accountable for how they fulfill this trust. She asked pointedly: "Suppose you should get to heaven and none of your children be there. How could you say to God, 'Here am I, Lord, and the children which Thou hast given me'?" (CG 561.3). The question reflects God's expectation that faithful parents will be able to present their children before Him, having trained them for His service. In contrast to the tragic scenario of neglect, Ellen White described the joy of faithful parenting: "You want to take them up to the gates of the city and say, 'Here am I, Lord, and the children that Thou hast given me'" (CG 565.2). This imagery shows that God expects parents to bring their children—whether still young or grown to adulthood—as overcomers who have been blessed through faithful educating and watchfulness. The accountability is clear and unavoidable. Ellen White warned that "God will inquire in the judgment, 'What have you done with my possessions?'" (EA 172.2). Parents who neglect this duty will face God's question about why they brought children into the world and then left them to be the sport of Satan's temptations (CG 75.2). The burden of this responsibility should rest upon parents' minds day and night, leading them to make a solemn consecration of themselves and their children to God (10MR 102.2). --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What specific responsibilities did Ellen White say parents must fulfill in training their children? • How did Ellen White describe the consequences of parental neglect versus faithful training? • What practical counsel did she give for parents to successfully prepare their children for heaven?

Ellen White taught that **both parents share the responsibility of raising children**, but she acknowledged that their roles often differ in practice. She wrote that "it is chiefly upon the mother that the work of child training devolves" (CT 127), recognizing the reality that mothers typically spend more time with children, especially during their early years. She emphasized that the mother must ever stand pre-eminent in this work of training the childrenbecause of her almost constant association with her children, especially during their tender years" (HR November 1, 1878, par. 8). However, Ellen White was clear that **the father must not abdicate his responsibility**. She warned that in the rush and hurry of business, parents, and especially fathers, are too apt to neglect the young family growing up in their homes" (HR February 1, 1878, par. 5). The father should not become "so absorbed in business life or in the study of books that he cannot take time to study the natures and necessities of his children" (CT 127). She stated plainly that "upon him, as well as upon the mother, rests the duty of laboring for the spiritual welfare of his children" (PCP 53). Regarding work, Ellen White recognized that "business matters often keep the father much from home, and prevent him from taking an equal share in the training of the children" (PCP 53). This reflects the practical reality that fathers typically worked outside the home. However, she insisted that **whenever possible, the father should unite with the mother in child training**. She wrote that "unitedly and prayerfully the father and mother should bear the grave responsibility of guiding their children aright" (CT 127). Ellen White gave special counsel about fathers who are ministers or whose work keeps them away from home. She warned that "ministers' children are in many cases the most neglected children in the world, for the reason that their father can be with them but little" (LUH April 7, 1909, par. 3). In such cases, she advised that the first work of the father should be to situate his children so that they will have work to doand if necessary, "place them where they can work and employ their God-given powers in useful labor" (LUH April 7, 1909, par. 3). The ideal she presented was **partnership and unity**: "Parents should be united in their faith, that they may be united in their efforts to bring their children up in the belief of the truth" (PCP 53). She taught that "the more closely the members of the family are united in their work in the home, the more uplifting and helpful will be the influence that father and mother and sons and daughters will exert outside the home" (10MR 258.3). --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What specific responsibilities did Ellen White assign to fathers in child training? • How did Ellen White counsel mothers to manage the daily training of children? • What did she say about children learning to work and share household responsibilities?