Be Careful What You Ask For

The other day when I arrived at the office, I was sharing some thoughts and concerns about the kids here in the house.  There was one in particular that I shared about, who is having difficulty grasping what being a new creature in Christ means and accepting His forgiveness.  Difficulty seeing themselves as 'new' and feeling 'tarnished'.  This disturbed me and I confronted the kid (and really, a young adult) asking if they had asked for forgiveness, and if so, what were they talking about, because God no longer had any recollection of said tarnishment.


The Boss, being wise, Yoda like, at least, in my opinion, shared two key verses that addressed the situation. Teaching session in full swing on Hosea 10:12, "Sow righteousness for your yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you." 
And then, Eph. 3:14, For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives it's name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray, that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Your life lesson from these verses may be different than mine, but I was slammed with a brick right smack in the middle of the forehead.  Figuratively of course, but it nearly felt literal as I discovered my treatment of the kids in this house varied depending on the kid, how they interacted with me, and their participation level in the daily running of the house. While I had complete compassion with kid who this story began with, there is another  who, and I'm being brutally honest, I treat rather callously, business like and with little compassion. 


The situation that brought this person to the house initially caused me to have compassion, but it quickly waned as I began having less than positive interactions, and then began harboring resentment for all that didn't happen, leading me to previous mentioned treatment, callousness, business like, keeping at arms distances, lack of compassion behavior on my part. The very treatment my Dad would afford me when I did not perform to his standards, and I was treating another in the same way I vowed to never treat my own children.  My OWN children.  Another brick.  I often found myself STOPPING myself from this behavior in the early formative years with my biological children, but some how have failed to stop myself when it comes to the non-biological children. Epic  failure. Jesus does not treat any of us differently, we are all equal in his eyes, and I've blown it big, no, HUGE!!


So, my unplowed ground in the days ahead will be broken.  Next interaction, I will put on love, and pray that this person can learn from me what the love of God is, even if they do not desire it or understand it.  Lord, give me courage to do and be as you desire and help me to not revert to past behaviors. Amen.