Giving Grace

Yesterday I did not post due to some technical difficulties. Thank you for your understanding. Not being able to complete the post I had promised to do each day really bothered me yesterday.

I worried if I had broken my Lenten disciple and had I broken my promise to God. I worried if I could be a good example to my children if I didn’t keep my promise. Then I worried about getting their lunches together, getting them dressed, feeding them breakfast, etc. etc. etc. You see quickly my worry about not be able to complete one task snowballed into something greater and it took more of my day than it needed.

The beginning of the Easter Vigil, Christ Church Blacksburg, VA,  where we hear the story of our mistakes and salvation.

During The Gathering on Sunday evening, we had the chance to talk about law and grace. I remembered when I paused yesterday that we are a people who believe in grace and that the law does not save us. The law is meant to protect us from harm, however our relationship with God is not dependent on the law. God is not going to kick me out the club or make me work harder to stay in if I miss a blog post. It will cause me frustration but my relationship with God does not depend on the computer working or not.

I realize that this seem like a silly example but many of our children believe that if they make one mistake then no one will love them. None of us have said this to our children but they have received the message loud and clear in our society. We often tell our children through the media and in our stories the worst-case scenarios to keep them on the right path. In a world when everything is breaking news it is difficult to give our children perspective about their actions and how their behavior is not linked to our love. It is hard for them to hear the Gospel when they are bombarded by bad news all day and each mistake or failure of childhood is presented as the end rather than and learning experience.  How do we teach them to show grace to those they love and to themselves if every mistake is a capital offence?

We teach them that God and we do not love them because of their actions. We also teach them that their actions have consequence that fit “the crime.”  We learn through Paul that God doesn’t take away his promise to Abraham if we can’t or don’t follow the rule. The promise given to Abraham and his descendants remains and they know it is there because they believe that God is faithful and full of grace. Now we can be assured that this grace Paul speaks of is available to us as well through Jesus Christ. Now to show our children the same and to give them a bit of Good News in a world that doesn’t want them to hear it.

Today’s Scripture: Romans 4: 13-16
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham                                                          
                       
Conversations Starters:
  • Tell of a time when you made a mistake and the results weren’t as bad as you thought they would be.
  • Do you worry about making mistakes or disappointing us?
  • Why are you worried?
  • Tell me how you know I love you. Are there ever times you aren’t sure about being loved?
  • Tell you children that your love is not dependent on their behavior or performance. Ask them how you can remind them of that when they aren’t sure.
  • How did Abraham and his family know that God loved them? If they made a mistake did God take away that love?
  • Does God love you like that? How do they know? Assure them that God loves them the same way as God loves Abraham and they can’t do anything lose that love.

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