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Archives for February 2010
Does the Gospel Make a Difference?
On Monday my friend Kelly showed me this passage and I’ve been thinking on it since then.
I Peter 1:17-21
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Significant in this passage is that we are told to act differently on the basis of our salvation. In other words, remembering the gospel should be a part of my behavior and thoughts. It’s also significant that Peter is writing to an audience who is suffering. Helpful context to remember.
Thinking on the gospel should affect how I interact with my children. When I remember that I was redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, I remember that I’m not here to please myself. I am reminded that good nutrition and a stimulating environment and polite, well behaved children are means to an end, but certainly not the highest priority for me. This week I’ve been challenged when my children ask for help and I’m not really keen to help them. I’ve had to stop being weary of repeating myself, because of these truths.
Thinking on the gospel gives me hope, because the same power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that works in my life to make me more like Christ. Just because I don’t always see God working doesn’t mean that he’s not.
That’s all for now. I’m still thinking of this.
How is Scripture changing you this week?
Just a Minute
I was talking yesterday about how we interact with our children when they come with a request.
In the past, I’ve said “just a minute,” usually so I can finish what I’m doing before I respond. I’m very distractible, and not just with things I want to avoid. Just this week, twice I’ve left coffee half-way made and wondered all day why I was walking around in a fog.
Then I noticed that “just a minute” meant nothing to my children. They know how long a minute is, and they noticed that there was no correlation between actual time and my stated time. So they nagged. After a few seconds, they asked again. They were afraid I’d forget, and I was annoyed because the way they ensured that I didn’t forget was to ask every 30 seconds until I payed attention.
Yes, I could tell them not to ask again, but really, my “just a minute” was misleading at worst and meaningless at best. So I have been attempting to instead give a specific reference point instead: ask me again when mommy is done with the dishes. Let me put this away, and then you can ask me. If I say just a minute, I want it to have meaning. I really don’t want my children to tune out what I say because I am speaking thoughtlessly.
I still have a ways to go. Let mommy finish her email can mean 5-30 minutes, depending on the email. It’s a meaningless statement. So is I’m getting up soon (something I’ve said to my children this morning, since I started this post when they were still sleeping, and they woke up before I had finished. Is the problem with these statements the ambiguity, or that I’m on the computer longer than I should be? I’ll be thinking on this.