K & I have a deal that I always tuck her in last "so we can talk as long as we need to." She is the master of thinking of very complex matters to discuss just as I am walking out of her room. Many nights I rush through it, exhausted and thinking about the things I want to do once the house is quiet...but when I give her an extra 2-3 minutes I am usually blown away by the depth of her thoughts.
Tonight, it was about the Golden Rule. With wide brown eyes she passionately explained how so many kids in her class misunderstand that verse. She dramatically explained that THEY think the Golden Rule mean to treat people the way they are treating you..."like if someone is mean, some kids think that means you are mean right back to them." She was greatly offended by this thought.
"Mama! Jesus would NOT say that was the right way to behave! Besides then someone would be mean and you would be mean back and then they would be mean back and it would just go on and on and on. Someone has to be kind and be an example!"
And even as I type it here tonight--as much as a reminder to myself to remember my darling little girl at this precious, innocent and sweet age--I am convicted by the simplicity that so many adults often overlook.
Stop the cycle.
Of meanness.
Of gossip.
Of jealousy.
Of competition.
Of infighting.
Of tearing one another down instead of building each other up.
It is not about what the other person did or didn't do...It is not about you and your wounded pride. It is about who Jesus was, what He did and what He said.
"Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. " -Jesus, as recorded in Luke 6:31-33 NIV
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." -Jesus, as recorded in John 15:11-12 NIV
4 comments:
No matter how old you get(as I can attest) sometimes you are tempted to be "mean" to someone who has been unkind to you! Just this weekend I had two opportunities to do the WRONG thing. But it is always better to treat others in a manner that you hope encourages them to be kind to others as well. So glad the K knows that Jesus does not allow that! Out of the mouth of babes....:)
It is no wonder that Jesus tells us to be as a little child. They see things so clearly. You have a wonderful daughter.
When I struggled with how to respond to being treated unfairly by a loved one the Lord gave me the verse: "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 I realized it was about me and how I was going to live and was able to set it aside and continue in a caring relationship with that person. And has been helpful to me many times since.
Oh man. I marked this blog on pinterest for the reclaimed wood 'we do...' family wall piece, but I can just tell this is a place I need to hang my coat on the rack and sip some coffee by the fire to sit a spell...I will be back.
{see you soon}
karin
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