Wednesday, December 12, 2012

God the Parent

Disclosure: I'm going to talk about parenting again. Tune in or tune out, as your level of boredom with the topic deems appropriate.  :)
 

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Grace means receiving a blessing you don't deserve. Mercy is being spared from punishment you do deserve.   Easy enough, right?

Unfortunately, children are born ignorant of what they deserve. 

Consider this: God spent 2,000 years hammering his Law into the children of Israel, making sure they understood He was fearsome, holy, and demanding of perfection, before surprising them with undeserved gifts.  Again, that's 2,000 years outlining His ridiculously-high expectations...

The preacher at church said on Sunday, "The Jews of the Old Testament believed God was hovering above them, just waiting to crack down." And I sat in the pew thinking, "That's because He was!"

Surely you remember the story of Lot's wife: Pillar of salt, anyone? All she did was turn around! And Moses, the actual bearer of the Law--a man who spoke with God like a friend--was barred from the Promised Land because of his sin.

Where were God's grace and mercy in these situations?

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The Israelites were very much like ignorant kids when God first began speaking through the prophets.  They had no idea what passed for "good behavior" and "bad behavior," until their Heavenly Parent explained it to them.  And, when they got out of line, God needed to correct them immediately and painfully, for the message to stick.

"That will not be tolerated!...I am a Holy God!" "Purge the evil from among you, and be holy like me."

For this reason, I intentionally act like a very "Mean Mommy" now that Cami is testing her limits.

This is NOT the time to display grace or mercy--when she doesn't understand enough to appreciate it. This is the stage of life where Cami learns what she deserves, before I can bless her with something different. I cannot let her believe disobedience will be tolerated.

Only a lazy parent jumps straight to sympathy, kindness, and forgiveness, because they are easier than being tough.

God didn't do this. He loved the children of Israel dearly, and yet He punished them with famines, desert-wandering, boils, snakes, and even death, as their actions required. He was jealous, angry, no-nonsense and "MEAN," while His babies were learning their place.

He continues parenting the same way today.

Unless a person understands what he/she deserves, God's grace and mercy will not have the intended impact.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my daughter is pulling the cat's hair again. She deserves to sit in the "Naughty Spot," so that's what she is going to get...

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