We were looking at God's relationship with Cain last time, let's continue. God asked Cain the tough questions that needed to be asked without worying about whether He was prying or invading Cain's privacy. We are being bombarded with childen's rights "experts" that are telling us how damaging it is for us to tell children, "No", or to discipline them (physically especially), or check up on them, or make them do what they don't want to do, or any number of other things. The truth is it is the absence of these things that really causes harm. Some will say that God never makes anyone do what they don't want to do, but that is not entirely true. God gives us choices with consequences, He also makes some blessings conditional. This life is filled with choices and we can make whichever ones we want, but there will be a day of reckoning.
God will make billions depart from Him whether they want to or not in the end. We don't want that to be us or our children, so we have to train our children, by forcing them to do what they do not naturally want to do now to avoid having to go where they don't want to go then. One of the goals of godly earthly fathers is to give discipline now so that our children will avoid facing the judgment of God in Hell. Paul speaks of this concept to the Corinthians regarding the Lord's Supper, but the principle is applicable in any area of life (1 Corinthians 11:31-32 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. (32) But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.).
As fathers we have to be involved in our children's lives enough to know what is going on with them and to know what to ask. God knew what questions to ask Cain, but in the end it was not enough. Let this be a warning to us. We can not expect to go lackadaisically through parenting and expect everything to turn out alright. Even with great care and effort a child can go awry, so we must do everything possible to steer properly. How far down the road will your car go in the right lane if you don't correct the steering? How far down Heaven's road do you think your child will go if you don't steer him?
Let's determine that we are going to be dilligent regardless of what the experts say. God gave children parents because He knows they need guidance. Be a more engaged father than you have been in the past.