https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZ6yBykSF7Rsk-bx9fhIgGNdhojKgUn59E00ulj8Kp6Tr8GMOT7GPxU6wzssEkkhZ2bBbU2ksW52HwSLNPtn5ZlPAHn8vzG2T51fWNiBn-2dD5e6R9pVgI6cdnYTXvD0KhNAs4Y6gIXdv/s1600/judgenot.jpg
This is a post I write to myself.
It is a true story about something that happened at our local school. You know the kind of thing I mean. The thing that a child does that gets all the tongues a wagging. What to be done about 'said' violation. What is the world coming too. Harsh and final judgements were made.
Now, do not get me wrong, I know and believe that children and adults should have consequences when wrong is done.
But in the midst of all these harsh and final words spoken by the parents in our community about the shocking acts of these children, I wondered, sometimes aloud about GRACE.
Surely I reasoned, that grace is what is need here. These are after all two little children and yes, their act was big but what about the teachable moment.
What about grace.
We talked a great deal about this in our home. I was harsh at first but as the days went on, I wondered about these children. What made them do it.
Then, at our weekly prayer meeting at school, we had the pleasure of a new mom.
We shared a bit and laughed a bit. Her attendance was puzzling as the term is nearly over.
She began to share , on that deeper level, that painful one.
She is the mother of one of these ' wicked' children.
Speechless!!
She shared how that some in the community have shunned her and her other child. Some have rejected. All, but one of her child's friends have forsaken her. The pain and stress of this mom was tangible.
And so, what about grace.
You see, we so easily forget that our darling little children are indeed born sinful. They are equally capable of doing equally wrong things. They indeed do. We just do not see them or experience them.
Those disobedient acts; unkindness towards others; spitefulness; rudeness; and every act that is thought or done that is against God's law.
But our acts of sin are all just that, sinful.
The act of sin flows from a heart that is in rebellion against a living and real God. We ALL shake our fists at him and say - no thank you, we want to rule our own lives, thank you.
This is the very heart of sin.
We somehow forget this when looking from the outside in on other peoples outworking of sin.
We look past the log in our own eye and point out the twig in an others.
And so we easily judge. We judge the parents by the act of the child. We gather and say unkind and hurtful thing about a parent who we have never even met.
But now I have.
I was reminded again that at the end of every act is a child, a real person and with that child is a real family. A mother and father that feels and breaths and lives.
This mother is feeling and breathing and hurting.
Grace!!
Grace means that with real repentance there is forgiveness.
Grace means we can offer kindness and real love in the midst of hurt and pain and sin.
It is what we have been called to do, if we call ourselves Christian.
These children have faced earthly consequences as we all do. They will also face God to answer, as we all will too.
All our children are actually in the same predicament. Just not so publicly.
So, we hold out grace and forgiveness, ESPECIALLY if we have tasted grace from our heavenly father and we are forgiven. Can we not find it in our hearts to welcome the sinner. So we love and welcome this family into our bigger school family. We support and encourage and love the children so that they may truly be restored.
We offer grace to those who have sinned just as we have been offered grace by our loving God because we have sinned.
This is my prayer.
This is a sad and yet beautiful story. A good reminder to NOT judge what we see but let God be the judge of all.
Take out the log first!!
No comments:
Post a Comment