My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
I'm hopping into Part 3 of a small series I'm doing called Things My Children Are Teaching Me: Crayon on the Wall. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 to find out what came ahead of the things I'm parsing out in this post. Also, I couldn't help but add this cute pic of E on her fourth birthday, so proud of herself, as we are now almost 2 years past a moment I had in my dining room when E came down one morning and drew all over my dining room wall.
The lessons I'm learning from that morning are still coming at me in waves, crashing over and saturating my soul.
Thank you Jesus.
We live in a finite world, limited by the boundaries of
time, and space, by our five senses and our human emotions. We know what we
know, but there is so much that we just don't know. God's thoughts are so far
beyond our grasp, so unattainable to us.
Like my child, who didn't understand why walls are not for
coloring, so often we find ourselves not understanding the laws and plans and
desires of our God.
The longer I am a parent, the more often I seem myself in
them.
Every tantrum is a reflection of my own heart.
Face to the ground, kicking and screaming because I took
away a toy that one was beating the other over the head with. Sobbing and
shrieking because I won't let them get down from the table until they eat (half
of) their dinner. I know, I'm such a mean mom.
I have been screamed at, slapped, spit on, kicked, bitten, head-butted,
ramrodded, and just the other day an angry Cali tried to run over me with her
tricycle. I can’t even remember why. Oh, child. I have held
my own in showdowns, nose to nose, when they have no intention of listening or
obeying.
In every situation there is one common thread: they want
what they want, and they don't understand why I am not on board with their
plans.
Despite whatever picture we have in our head of who God is,
and what He is like, really, truly, He is just like the parent in a
parent-child relationship.
He knows, and sometimes we just don't.
He knows what needs to develop in us, and what needs to
stop- becaaaaauuse yes, adults have heart tantrums too.
He knows what's coming, and He knows what will hurt us.
He knows what is good, and what we need, and He knows what will turn into
a hot mess and what will get us into trouble.
And sometimes, he needs us in a spot where he can use
us. Sometimes he has plans that just
don’t jive with our “I want what I want” mentality.
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)
Yes, Lord, I'm listening.
Elin may not understand it, but if I were to let her draw
all over my walls whenever she wanted to my home would be a disaster.
It is
hard enough to get her, now four years old, to consistently be a good listener.
I can only imagine what a nightmare it would be if I never gave her any
direction or discipline, and instead let her follow her every whim or desire.
Yet. Yet we so want that from God. To follow our every whim and desire.
Our spiritual lives are shaped in a way that mirrors the
parent-child relationship, with the boundaries and guidance of the Lord, to
keep us safe, to keep us from hurting each other and ourselves.
But also - also, and most importantly - so that we become
accustomed to listening, and obeying.
If you quit listening, dear child, and strike off on your own, you’ll soon be out of your depth. Proverbs 19:27 (The Message)
I have great intentions to keep E alive and fed, and
growing... all that good, normal parenting stuff.
I want to equip her to make
it in this big world one day.
I know that if I can teach her to listen and obey
as a young child, instead of doing whatever she wants, whenever she wants, that
she will learn on her own one day to seek out advice, and to make good, healthy
decisions.
The book of Romans talks about this a lot. It talks about
"the law" that is placed on our hearts. Basically it’s an innate
sense of right and wrong (Romans 2:15).
A tangible picture of this is a parent, teaching a child.
From the very beginning, before she was even talking, I have guided Elin,
and I will continue to do this every step of the way for her.
The Book of John in chapter 10 gives this picture of sheep who know what to do because they recognize
the voice of the shepherd- it’s the same concept for us. It says “My sheep listen to my voice; I
know them, and they follow me. I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch
them out of my hand." (verses 27-28).
Just like sheep hear the shepherds voice, and just like my
children hear my voice, the “law”, or the promptings to follow righteousness
and seek out our faith, is the voice of God on our hearts.
We may not be able to hear it with our ears,
but that doesn’t make it any less real or tangible.
God has written his law, or his Word, on our
hearts and all over creation, just like I incorporate my wisdom and guidance
into every moment I have with Elin.
It is our job to listen, and it is His job to guide.
It’s the listening that we have the hardest time with.
We don't have time for much, always in a hurry, drowning in
busyness. This has been my struggle for years, and Jesus is whispering in my
ears, No, stop, sit. There’s a better way.
Listening looks a lot like quiet.
Like stopping and waiting and asking.
Lord, what do you want? God of the heavens, creator of all things, designer of every day and architect of every night, what is your plan?
And we keep asking, and He keeps guiding, because we all know there is no magical formula to parenting, a one-and-done if you will.
Neither is there with the spiritual life.
Let my cry come before you,
O LORD; give me understanding according to your word! Psalm 119:169
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