One of the great pleasures of working with children is that I often find myself learning from them. I believe that studying and interacting with children has had a huge influence in my development as a believer. Jesus instructs us, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).”
Recently, I have been intrigued by the way children handle conflict. I have been noticing that children can be easily upset. When things are taken away or when they do not get their way, they are so quick to verbalize their feelings. Some of my favorites are: “You're not my best friend anymore, I'm telling on you, and by far my favorite one is...”You're not coming to my birthday party!” These phrases are harsh and normally leave the child in tears. However, I have also noticed that children are quick to forgive. After a fight, a short period of time will pass, and suddenly it is as if the argument never happened. By some means it is resolved and children can go back to being best friends and be invited over to each other's houses all in the same day. Now we are left wondering...how do they do that?
Jesus encourages us to love our enemies. Matthew 8:44 tells us, “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” It is easy to love those who love us. Jesus emphasizes that even tax collectors and pagans do that (v. 46). Thus, the challenge is to go beyond that and show love to those who have persecuted us.
By no means should we refrain from standing up for ourselves. It is written that “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
(2 Timothy 3:16).” Although, if we prevent ourselves from pouring out all forgiveness for those in our lives, we are missing out on the challenge. Understanding forgiveness is apart of our completion as a believer (Matthew 8:48). “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15).”
Two of the boys that I work with have been given labels by their peers. One is known as the “bad kid” and the other is known as the “slow kid.” The “bad kid” has used so many hurtful words to the “slow kid;” phrases that have damaged his self-esteem and has made it difficult for him to learn. However, one day, I witnessed the “slow kid” come up to the “bad kid” and help him with an assignment. He offered up his forgiveness and helped him complete his work. There were no negative words or reminders about the past. The two children played together for the rest of the day. This is freedom. A freedom from enemies. The freedom to forgive.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
"Hear the Silence"
During a prayer meeting, our group decided to explore the practice of training ourselves to be silent. We all failed in the past on our own, but we decided to use our time as a group to experiment with using an opportunity to be still before the LORD. We wanted to see how this would strengthen our prayers and our connection as a group. Silence is important, because there is so much that can be revealed in that time. “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth (Psalm 46:10).”
We dimmed the lights, closed our eyes and became silent. Few words were spoken in prayer. I became very aware of my senses. I listened to the cars outside, which made me think of all the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. People who could hear the Word. I also saw a lot of imagery. It is very appropriate to visualize verses in the Bible. When I was silent, I was able to see an image with Psalm 61:1-4, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” I could visualize being cradled by my Creator. I often try to feel this, and when we were silent, this image became more apparent to me.
As we were silent, my mind surprisingly did not wander. In the past when I have tried this, my mind would jump to things I had to do that day or fixate on pointless worries. This time was different, and I feel very strongly that power lies in numbers. Being united in a group, created a support to help us individually seek the silence. This allowed our group to find a more personal meaning to the verse, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20).”
As I drove home that night, I felt renewed. I reached for the radio to turn up the volume in the car, but instead I ended up turning it off. I decided to drive home in silence, because I wanted to carry on that beautiful feeling that we had just experienced. Practicing silence can be a challenge, but using the support from others can make it attainable and easier to accomplish on our own. “Let all the earth be silent before him (Habakkuk 2:20).”
We dimmed the lights, closed our eyes and became silent. Few words were spoken in prayer. I became very aware of my senses. I listened to the cars outside, which made me think of all the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. People who could hear the Word. I also saw a lot of imagery. It is very appropriate to visualize verses in the Bible. When I was silent, I was able to see an image with Psalm 61:1-4, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” I could visualize being cradled by my Creator. I often try to feel this, and when we were silent, this image became more apparent to me.
As we were silent, my mind surprisingly did not wander. In the past when I have tried this, my mind would jump to things I had to do that day or fixate on pointless worries. This time was different, and I feel very strongly that power lies in numbers. Being united in a group, created a support to help us individually seek the silence. This allowed our group to find a more personal meaning to the verse, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20).”
As I drove home that night, I felt renewed. I reached for the radio to turn up the volume in the car, but instead I ended up turning it off. I decided to drive home in silence, because I wanted to carry on that beautiful feeling that we had just experienced. Practicing silence can be a challenge, but using the support from others can make it attainable and easier to accomplish on our own. “Let all the earth be silent before him (Habakkuk 2:20).”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)