As I passed them, I bent down to Ellie and told her "I promise I'll never yell at you like that, especially in public" Not 2 seconds later did I realize that my statement was pretty hypocritical, and I would probably never be able to keep that promise. I instantly thought about how many times, in my sleep deprivation, I'd been very angry at her for not letting me sleep because she needed something.
I saw this mom and her kid walking back from the school with the older brother about 20 minutes later and she was still speaking harshly with her kids. I felt really bad for those boys, and stored this in my memory as a warning for myself.
I asked myself, "what's this mom's deal?" Why is she lacking so much grace when dealing with her kids? Well, I don't know her, but my guess is that she's lacking the grace herself that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ, therefore she's not able to pour out the grace into her kids.
Consider what Jesus said "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:24
Now don't misunderstand, no one is good by nature, in fact we are actually all evil, and without God the Holy Spirit people are not able to do anything or say anything good at all, because of that evil nature. Jesus is talking about good people as those who are redeemed and treasure Christ, and evil people, those who treasure other things than Christ.
If it weren't for the redeeming work of Christ in my life I'm sure I'd act no differently toward my kids than this mom did, and maybe even worse! Even now I still see glimpses of the evilness of my own heart in my behavior toward my baby and I shutter at the thought of these moments persisting in my parenting, so I pray to God for his grace and help.
Parenting is hard work, really hard, and there is a great deal of suffering that we go through for our children. But there is a difference between Christian parents, and non-Christian parents.
Consider this verse:
Romans 5:1-5
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this GRACE in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The key difference is that parents who rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, are also able to rejoice in their sufferings. This is possible through the grace of God, and produces in the parents a plethora of other things like: joy (the ability to be happy in Christ alone, even when your kids sin against you, or you suffer in some way as a parent), endurance (with kids when they annoy you, or cause you some hardship), character (the ability to stay composed and demonstrate the very character of Christ in crucial moments when your kids need you as an example), hope (that all the sacrifice and work you put into training your kids and teaching them about God and life is worth it), and the ability to stand unashamed before God (because indeed everything we do in obedience to God pleases him, and no matter how the world sees us, God's opinion is the only one that matters).
The simple fact is that grace is given by God, and if not received from God, the parent is not able to bestow real grace upon his child and act rightly before God, neither is he able to teach his child to act rightly before God.
No matter how hard we try to be good parents, it's futile without God's ways and God's grace, because simply good parenting is not enough to help our kids gain the one thing that really matters in life, a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
I'm not going to do everything nearly as well as I would like to as a parent, but I have hope that if I turn to God daily to receive grace for my work, and in turn pour this grace out into my kids as I teach them about Christ and life, I know that I will not be ashamed for this obedience before God.
If you're a parent, and times are tough with your kids, and your patience with them is short, turn to God and seek a relationship with him, and then let your relationship with God be reflected in the way you raise your kids. If you don't I assure you that you will stand before God ashamed and regretting that you had not turned to him and helped your kids to do the same.
Consider these words:
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"
Consider these words:
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"
Acts 2:38
"And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Heb 4:16
"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Believe in Him, the giver of grace and all good gifts, and He will be your helper in your time of need.
"And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Heb 4:16
"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Believe in Him, the giver of grace and all good gifts, and He will be your helper in your time of need.
May God bless you.
