Our children are learning about God’s Goodness in children’s church. The children have spent a lot of time learning about what grace is, and why it shows God’s goodness to us and other sinners. As part of the lesson, the children were asked how they could show grace to those who have done wrong to them.

Today I’ve been pondering how teaching siblings to extend grace actually reinforces the truths we are teaching them about God’s grace to us. When one of my children complained about the other’s misdeed, I asked whether he had shown grace to his sibling. It gave us another opportunity to talk about what grace meant (showing kindness when it is undeserved) and how God has shown us grace. It also demonstrates how we can do right when we are mistreated.

As I sit to think some more about grace, I remembered an article I read on grace, so I went to find it (You can read it here). I was struck with the sobering opportunity we have as parents to show grace to our children, kindness even when they do not deserve it. Children can be indifferent to their parents’ sacrifices, rebuff their love and prayers, speak unkindly, and reject their teaching. Our response is often irritation, discouragement, anger, anything but grace. This is a challenge for me today.

And, predictably, I’m finding my own appreciation of God’s grace deepening as I think on it. How often am I indifferent to Jesus’ sacrifice? Do I not rebuff my Savior’s love for me when I insist on doing what is right in my own eyes? And yet, God’s blessings pour out abundantly, faithfully. His love does bring me to repentance, often. Yes, in love he chastens, but his goodness is apparent wherever I turn.

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Filed under: Getting Along, Introspection