You know what makes me mad? My kids’ clothes on the floor, getting stepped on and ultimately ruined. The kids don’t understand- they think I’m overreacting. Maybe I am, but I didn’t grow up with plenty. I struggled to find outfits that helped me fit in, so when I see my kids destroying something that cost money, something others don’t have- it makes me mad.
The problem is, I don’t always handle it well, so my analogy breaks down. But can we follow this thinking- just for a minute- to get a glimpse of the righteous wrath of God?
The thing we have to grasp, as followers of Christ, is that sin is sin be cause it is destructive. And what is destroyed is way more precious than a pair of $20 jeans from Old Navy. When we read about the wrath of God, it’s not the human, sinful, overblown wrath of an imperfect mom. It is the appropriate anger of a righteous God, in response to attitudes and behaviors that destroy his precious creation and the people he died to save.
We want our children to walk in the light. We want them to love God and his word, to obey from a sense of belonging in the family, with a feeling of overwhelming love.
But we also want them to have a healthy respect for the destructive nature of sin in a way that deepens both their love for God, and their understanding of his love for them. It’s a tall order- which is why we pray.
prayersformychildren.org 