Month: September 2019

My kids and I have been 100% successful in not murdering each other. Are you impressed?

We are also 100% successful in not robbing a bank, worshipping at the altar of Athena, and coveting our neighbor’s donkey.

By these measures, we are 100% successful in doing the right thing- but I bet you’re not super impressed. Because it turns out we are all aware of how easy it is to check off this particular list- you know, the “biggies.”

It’s the little things that trip us all up, though. As I read this section in 1 John (3:1-11) it hits me again and again. My last prayer was that we would love our brothers and sisters like Jesus does. And that is the foundation of our calling, isn’t it?

But the little things are the hardest. Sometimes we walk right by, ignoring the person who just needs a smile or a hug. Other times we see every need that exists, and become overwhelmed, and then either paralyzed or frantic. We take on too many obligations and projects, forgetting that the most powerful act of love may simply be to pray.

I love that old song, “Give me your eyes.” So today my prayer is that we and our kids have eyes that are open both to the needs, and also to the role God would have for us in each situation.

Just remember for a moment that feeling- the warm, spreading joy you feel when one of your children is kind to another. Honestly- is there anything better?

On the flip side, is there anything that makes you angry like when one of your children is mean to another? That is a unique flavor of emotion, isn’t’t it?

John, in this passage is just reminding us- righteousness isn’t always fancy or cool or noteworthy. It is an everyday thing.

Love your brother.

Of course we have to remember that our brother isn’t necessarily the one living with us, so we talk a lot about that with our kids. And we repent for how we have failed.

But today, as parents and grandparents, teachers and relatives, let’s focus on the real struggle in our families. Let’s pray our kids can choose to imitate Jesus in one of the hardest ways possible- by loving their actual brothers and sisters.

If you don’t like hot, buttery popcorn, you’re probably not a Scott. And if you don’t see food as an excuse for condiments, your place in the genetic heritage is definitely questioned. And your feelings about frozen sweets- well, our attitude is, “you can’t fight while eating ice cream.”

Your family has it’s things as well- maybe not about food, but sports, or music, or politics…most families share a few characteristics that just mark each individual as part of a tribe.

That’s what John goes into here. After his emotionally charged exclamation of wonder- “Can you believe it?! God calls us his children!” John describes for us a couple of things that mark us as belonging to God’s tribe. We don’t make sin a habit, and we practice obedience.

Following Jesus is hard. I mean, it’s not complicated. It’s way beyond worth everything it takes, but it is not an easy way to live. Our man John knows this even better than we do, so he is weaving together words of motivation and encouragement along with words of caution and correction.

Because, after all, following Jesus has always been hard. We get distracted, we are drawn away. We wonder if the sacrifices we have to make to be obedient- are they really worth it? We wish we had a simple list of rules and procedures, so we develop one. Then we realize that doesn’t work either.

But we know God loves us anyway, so do we really need to worry about messing up? Can’t we just relax and live our lives out without worrying so much about what living like Jesus?

I don’t think it’s an accident that John keeps calling his readers “little children.” I think he is reminding us that, just like we are constantly assuring our children they are loved, we also constantly correct them and guide them in ways that will allow them to grow up healthy and strong.

There is not cruise control, no algorithm, no checklist. We are children, not projects, employees, or robots.

So John helps us see that as children of God there are some family traits we have to cultivate. My prayer today is we can model for our kids what it looks like to cultivate those traits, and that our kids can see the heart behind the behavior.

Friends. Can you even believe it? The God who is so powerful that his spoken word generated more galaxies than we can count – this is the God who calls you and me his children.

After all the acts of creation, and many years of history that passed, God chose to physically show up on this messed up planet and demonstrate how life should be lived. And then he suffered terrible agony so that all our messes can be made right.

At some point a few years ago, he looked at this creation that is “very good” and decided that it needed- specifically in this time and place- a version of humanity that is you, and another that is me.

On purpose.

And when he looks at you and at me, and the state we are in as a result of his suffering, he says, “it was all worth it.”

Oh friends. Can you even believe it? We are called children of God, because in his grace and mercy, that is what we are!

Let’s just be grateful today, and pray that we and our children can see the immensity of this gift.

Quick question. How many of you have been able to convince your kids you are 100% right? All the time? I’m guessing the answer is exactly zero. Anyone whose child is any number of days old has already had some disagreements. I remember the days when I just needed my baby to agree that it was time to sleep, but no joy. Or I needed them to agree that shoes really are necessary in public places. Maybe I was able to force my will, but there was definitely no agreement.

Real talk for a minute here . Our children are going to disagree with us about Jesus. About the Bible. About what church should look like. Every single one will either argue, vote with their feet by walking away, or silently question as their hearts grow colder.

One of those options is ok with me.

So we welcome arguments and discussions in our house, but that is not the topic of this blog. Our topic is praying for our children, so when I read in 1John about some who “went out from us, but they were not of us” (2:19) I am compelled to pray.

John says the problem was, those who left denied that Jesus is the Christ.

Lord, may that never be said of us or of our children.

I would love to think that my children will grow in their faith in exactly the same way I have- oh, actually maybe not. Now that I think about it, I had some weird turns along the way, so what makes me think my path is the best one? It was mine, born out of my circumstances and the foundation my parents faithfully laid. Each of my children will have a different path- different from mine, and different from each other’s.

My prayer is that through the twists and turns of life, our children would always hold on to Jesus, our friend, our Savior. “Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.” (2:23-24)

Sometimes, one of my kids will declare that a particular person is their “favorite person in the world.” I’ve gotta say, it can hurt a little, because I am never the one.  Oh, they tell me I am the best mom ever. But the “all-around-favorite-ever” ribbon goes to someone that doesn’t ever take their phone away, so I guess that’s fair.  

The passage we are reading this week -1John 2:15-29- makes me wonder if God feels that way when I choose to love the world and the things it offers. How can the one he loves so much (me, or you) place any value at all on things that are at best temporary, and at worst deadly? 

I think there are at least two answers.  

Maybe I am not spending enough time with my Heavenly Father, so I don’t have his love flowing through me. When that happens, I don’t love the things he loves.  

Or maybe I am not aware that I have gradually shifted focus, so that I love things of the world without really being aware of it.  

Either way, John gives us the answer.  We have know the truth of Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit.

All we need to do is remain in fellowship with Christ. When I spend time reading the Word, praying, deliberately noticing the gifts God has placed in my life and thanking him, filling my spaces with music that honors him and leads me to worship, filling my life with people who point me toward Christ; that is when the attractions of the world look as empty as they are, and there is nothing more beautiful than Jesus.

This is our prayer today- as usual for ourselves as much as for our children- that we would stay close to Jesus, filled with His love so that the deception of the world holds no attraction for us. 

Our kids don’t live in an easy world. This week my kids will have to decide to avoid gossip, whether to take shortcuts with school work, which parties to go to and whether to say yes to the illegal substances….the list goes on. Your kids’ choices may be different, but no less difficult. To hit or spit or bite? To obey or talk back? To open the image or app?

And then there are the self confidence busters all around. His marker was moved down the behavior chart, or from green to yellow to red. Her paper has a lot of red ink on it. Overly photoshopped images instill body image insecurity. New friends didn’t leave room at the cafeteria table.

Yet we are called to “walk in the light”, to love our brothers and sisters. How can we expect our kids to love others when they struggle to love themselves?

“I’ve messed up so badly!”

“No one likes me. I’m unloveable.”

And when we- their as moms and dads and grandparents and aunts and uncles- tell them they are beautiful and precious, they can’t hear it. You know- “You have to say that. You’re my mom.”

The Christians of John’s time faced a whole different set of challenges, but they struggled just like we do. So these last few verses in 1 John chapter 2 (12-14) came as a much needed assurance of identity, a meditation we need for ourselves and our children today.

Our sins are forgiven. Our God is eternal. We have overcome the evil one. We know the Father. We are strong, the word of God is in us, and remember- we have overcome the evil one.

And so we pray that this is how our children would define themselves.