Raising children is so filled with ups and downs/the days that you wish would end sooner and those you wish would last forever, but when these kids reach 18 years of age, you feel like you have accomplished something! At least Mike and I did. We believed that we had taught our boys all that we knew to teach them, but certainly we made a lot of mistakes along the way. And yes, there are things we wish we had done differently or spent more time teaching, but we felt like at 18, they would be able to make their own decisions. So when each of them went to college, Mike and I gave them “the talk”.
John at UNC Charlotte
Chris at North Carolina State University
At 18, we had taught them as much as we could, but now it was time for them to learn to make their own decisions (and mistakes) AND accept the consequences that followed - good or not so good. We stressed that we would always be here for them if they needed to talk things through or get some advice. We also told them that we had loved them and would ALWAYS love them regardless of their acts. We may not agree with their actions or words, but we will always love them. So off they each went to Charlotte and then to Raleigh 2 years later. (And believe me, it wasn’t as simple as this reads. Ya’ll know what I’m talking about!!)
In my reading from the prophets in the Old Testament this fall, I have seen how God has taken this same approach with us (Or we probably learned it from Him!), but He just revealed this to me this morning. The concept of a deep and everlasting love.
Hosea gives us God’s words on how He is ready to destroy Israel (again!) because of their sins against Him. How many times have I read this in the OT and wondered “How God, can you keep loving us when your people turn away?” These verses in Chapter 11 below describe what I’m talking about:
Hosea 11:7-10a For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High,
but they don’t truly honor me.
8 “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go?
How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim?
My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.
9 No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel,
for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you,
and I will not come to destroy.
10 For someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord, will roar like a lion.
And when I roar, my people will return trembling from the west. (NLT)
God has given us every chance in the world to turn back to Him, and thankfully, many of us have!! And I do believe that hundreds of thousands more are turning to Him every day. Praise God for those who are ministering to others to show them our God!
But deep down, He reveals how He still loves His people. Many of us know that parenting is not an easy role in life. It involves a ton of responsibility in knowing how to discipline your child, knowing what to teach them about character/morals, teaching them right from wrong, teaching them social skills, teaching them kindness, teaching them to think for themselves/problem solve, etc. God has used our parents/other family members to teach us in His ways. He knows that we will learn to live on our own and make our own decisions, but will He agree with all of these decisions? No. He gave us free will to choose our path every day and make decisions. He obviously wants us to consult Him first, but that doesn’t always happen (yes, I am guilty of that!).
Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (NLT)
BUT if we have the right relationship with God, then we know without a doubt that He will still love us even if we take the wrong path. All we have to do is tell Him “I am sorry, God. That was wrong.” and He will continue to shower His love and guidance on us. AND He will forget our sins.
Isaiah 43:25 I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. (NLT)
By using God as our “Father” example, we learn to teach our children in His ways and still love them when they do wrong. There are many reasons why they do wrong, but if we take the time to talk to them about it, they will usually share, and it becomes a teaching moment. I believe that this is how God used His prophets - to share His words and warnings with His people in order to teach them what they needed to do to return to Him and His love. Whether or not they accepted this or learned from it was up to them.
The Bible teaches us so much, but it has taken me this year to hear what God is saying to me about His words in the Old Testament through the reading of the One Year Bible. I encourage you to consider reading the Bible in this way next year. Ask for God to reveal His meanings to you and to reveal his words as they are applicable to our generation.
By the way, our boys learned a lot during college and are still learning (and teaching us!). With a grandchild on the way and more grandchildren in the future, I look forward to seeing the teachings they will receive from our boys and their wives. I also am so grateful for the teachings from my parents and their parents and the generations before them as God’s Word has been handed down to each of us.
Thanks for stopping by,
Rachel
Comments