Couple weeks ago I received a letter from our sponsored child, Samuel. He said his favorite story of the Bible was Noah's Ark (
side-note: I love that Compassion puts their Child Development Centers in a church, A Church!).
He then asked what my (our?) favorite Bible story would be. Huh. Why had I never thought of that as a child? At least I don't remember having a favorite as a child or now. Caden received a kids Bible for his baby dedication on the 3rd. As I was reading the first page to Caden (don't usually get past the first page before Caden decides to go fast through the other pages, he delights in turning pages), the Genesis text jumped out, "In six days God made everything". Everything hey? The complexity of humans, all animals, land masses, oceans, galaxies, EVERYTHING. This was suddenly beyond comprehension to me. To add to this interesting thought, I was watching the Oasis channel one day (all documentaries on nature/science), the show was about how scientists/researchers study animals or insects, then try to recreate them. Some were studying insects - roaches and centidepes can move at amazing speeds, partly because of the number of legs and partly because of the angles/direction of their limbs. Then the univs would try to recreate using robotics, each time they did, they could come close, but there was always a way the insect was better. Or one car company studied a type of fish and realized even tho it was a box shape, the fish was very aerodynamic and efficient with energy, so they used the fish body shape in creating their car.
Mercedes-Benz bionic car
Box Fish
The narrator of this show ended each segment on the note that with each re-creation, the original creation just could not be matched. This was not a show that acknowledged God's creation. I think God used this show to help me read between the lines, I was able to come to His conclusion, the reality he wanted me to see.
All the complexities of creation in 6 days. We as humans in 6,000+ years haven't been able to figure out the complexities of the human body, the mind, haven't explored all the depths of the oceans, the list goes on. Will we ever figure it out? Does it matter? God planned it all out, zillions or in-numerous amounts of details in 6 DAYS! Can we trust him with our lives? With our short 90 year lives?
I wrote Samuel back, I stated honestly that I didn't know what my favorite story was. I did tell him what God was showing me about creation. As an adult now, I also told him the other "stories" I most value are Christ's birth - God becoming man and the death of Christ - Resurrection. I've been listening to Daily Audio Bible the last few weeks, the reading is in Jeremiah. God spoke to kings through Jeremiah. In the old testament (before Christ), if there wasn't obedience to what God spoke there were punishments - people, Kings, countries took the punishment. After Christ died, He took the punishment for us - enter Grace. Even though we as people still sin, we may suffer earthly consequences because of our sin, but we don't take eternal punishment IF we have accepted Christ.
Whoa! I get a daily email, this is what was in it today, talk about timing...relates to what is going on in my head about punishment, consequences and grace.
Romans 2:4: Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you to repentance? (NIV)
When our kids disobey, we sometimes feel justified to respond with anger, guilt, or sarcasm. It may make us feel better for a moment, but it rarely produces the results we are hoping for. This verse explains why. We can be "right" in our assessment of the situation and still be "wrong" in how we respond. We are called to treat our kids with respect, even in the midst of conflict, because this is how God responds to us in our rebellion.
Rather than seeking to punish or prove we're right, the motivation for discipline should be to move our kids towards holiness. God allows us to learn important lessons by giving us consequences, but He does so with kindness, tolerance and patience. This is the kind of discipline that leads to repentance!
Being kind, tolerant, and patient even in the face of disobedience or rebellion requires your kids to focus on their mistakes, rather than your response. - Parenting by Design
(boldness mine)
Multiple topics in this post, I realize that, it's whats on my mind right now.
3 comments:
Incredibly interesting. Thanks for sharing!
That's so neat.
Nicely written!
Actually, it's funny because I JUST finished writing a post about my battle with Tennyson this evening, and how I was impressed with myself for letting his actions be his own consequences, and not yelling, hitting, demeaning him, etc., and instead letting him figure out why he missed out on parts of his favorite bedtime routine - a routine that continued without him as he made the choice to tantrum instead of take part in it.
Although, I do take offense to one thing you wrote - I intend to live to 100!
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